Faith Under Fire
by CzarZelinsky
Summary: Part 2 of Thor's Slayers: Thor knows more about Earth's exotic wildlife than Stargate Command could have imagined. Thor decides to rectify that situation. SG-1 might be a little better if they just had some Faith. (Buffy/Angel/SG1/SG:A Characters. Story could become M in the future.)
1. Part II - Faith Under Fire

**— Thor's Slayers ****—**

**Thor's Slayers  
****~ Part**** II ~**

**###**

**Chapter One**

_**Faith Under Fire**_

* * *

**Update: 12/4/16 -** Continuing to update story with occasional corrections and inserting dates for a timeline

* * *

#

**Two Years Later...  
October 20th, 2005**

Faith slowly moved her head to peek around the tree, hoping to locate the other remaining member of her squad, or barring that, trying to locate enemy positions. Instead she jerked her head back just in time to avoid the hail of incoming fire. She heard the distinct _whizz_ of projectiles speeding through the air at high velocity. A velocity that she wasn't prepared to test her Slayer reflexes and speed against.

"Fuck," Faith muttered under her breath. In a slow but fluid movement, she lowered herself to a crouch and began a steady duck walk to another area that provided better cover, and perhaps a better vantage point as well.

She passed a body. A friend that was now sprawled out on the dirt and whose fatigues showed the telltale red splatters that gave proof to his fate. Roger Watts hadn't made it far after the initial ambush, and his body was proof that their attackers had been initially successful. But they had paid a hefty price for taking out her friends, she and Boyd had made sure of it. But now she and Boyd were separated and, if she was right, surrounded.

Faith kept moving; the slow measured pace of a duck walk that kept her low to the ground and gave less of a profile for would-be snipers to hit. There was another _whizzing_ noise that had her going prone in a flash. The grunt that followed that _whizz_ had come from someone else though, a nearby someone else. Somebody who, by the sound of that grunt, was now out-of-action.

A friend? The enemy? The enemy: that nebulous description that seemed to exemplify the fundamental difference between Slaying and...

A movement caught her eye.

Faith might be new to firearms and relatively new to fighting as part of a small disciplined unit, but she was still a Slayer. Her body reacted as it was now trained to do, with the speed, reflexes, and instincts of a Slayer to augment that reaction.

She rolled to the side, bringing her rifle to her shoulder even as she did so. The almost minuscule amount of force she applied to the trigger filled the air with her returning fire.

This time it was her projectiles that filled the air. Her munitions that made that now familiar noise which brought with it the potential for mayhem and destruction. This time, it was not her friend's body left in the dirt like so much refuse.

And that was what separated a Slayer from...whatever she was or was becoming. Slaying is personal, always about violence and death with the stake or blade in your hand. Slaying was feeling the flesh of your foes give beneath your strength, or being forced to endure the claws and fangs which belonged to the monsters which haunt humanity's nightmares. Slaying was magic and prophecy, about the "gift" bestowed by the Powers that Be. Even if she were now only one in hundreds...thousands of such girls, they were all, in some way, _the_ Slayer.

Now Faith was left pressing a trigger, a trigger that's squeeze had resulted in a body toppling from a sniper blind in the low branch of a tree perhaps 75 meters away. She couldn't even see the body, but she heard the _thump_ as flesh met earth. A combination of engineering and combustion were her strengths now, not mystical empowerment.

Before arriving in Sunnydale, the first time, she _had_ held a gun back in Southie, but had never fired one. That hadn't changed until Sam brought her to a shooting range for an impromptu lesson before she began any formal organized training.

As it turns out, her Slayer abilities had extended beyond the standard arsenal of a Slayer. A week after that lesson, she decided to have some of her new friends and acquaintances over at her new apartment. When Sam had mentioned Faith's skill, a challenge had been immediately issued by Jack.

To Sam's amusement, and General Hammond's mortification, Faith was able to demonstrate her skill with her usual class and efficiency.

The mortification that Hammond felt had been two-fold. One was that it took place on the Air Force Academy's shooting range where more than a few onlookers had been witness to Faith's demonstration. The second item of mortification, and Faith's demonstration of skill and class, was her ability to create a remarkably accurate picture of a man's genitalia with bullet holes.

Of course, what made it particularly satisfying, to Faith, Sam, and Janet at least, was Faith's second display of her finesse that had her emptying an entire clip with the Beretta M9 into the 'tip' of her earlier masterpiece, all without a missing a single shot at 20 meters.

There had been a collective wince and involuntary flinch in the attending male population.

Faith smiled at the memory but sobered when she remembered her current circumstances. The Slayer made her way into the leafy underbrush, taking great care to avoid snapping any branches that might betray her location. By her count, there should be five more enemy combatants in the area.

She would assume, cautiously so, that the unseen shots and the following grunt earlier had belonged to her last remaining squadmate. It had sounded like Boyd, and if it was him, than she was alone in the forest with five men who wanted to nail her. And not in the good kind of way.

She found a small area that was ringed with small boulders. A very sensible place to park oneself if they were on the defensive. It was a solid tactical decision that would give her a little time to plan her next move...but in the last two years, she hadn't changed _all_ that much.

Faith smiled then. A slow smile that crept up her face like the sun crept up the early morning sky. _No_, she thought, _I'm not trapped here with _them. _They're trapped here with _me.

Faith crouched down, closed her eyes, and listened. She was motionless, scarcely even breathing as she _listened._

_There!_

The Slayer opened her eyes and _moved_.

#

He walked as he been trained to do so, methodically and quietly. It wouldn't be long before they caught up with her. Only _she_ and one other, the CO of their squad, had been able to evade his men's carefully executed ambush. It had been costly, but taking out half of their team had made it worthwhile.

A quick hand signal had one of his men and single remaining woman under his command peeling from his flank to fade into the nearby foliage. Taking those positions would allow for maximum concealment and while providing a stage to offer a quick response to any sighting of _her._ Another hand signal had the third remaining soldier under his command moving towards a particularly tall tree fitted with a very well hidden blind. That left him and the final surviving man of his original three fire teams moving in the general direction of the last audible shots. They walked carefully, taking advantage of any cover that crossed their path while remaining watchful of their surroundings.

There was an explosive '_crack_' that had him jerking his head towards the noise in response, only to see a large rock rolling down the nearby stone face with which it had collided.

His eyebrows rose and he crouched down, looking for the woman who was undoubtedly responsible for the obvious lure. He turned, preparing to issue orders to the man watching his six.

His man was gone.

No, not gone, he realized. He grimaced as he saw a hand, a man's hand, stretched out towards him, a supplication to him for aid. The large trunk of a tree obscured the rest of the man's body, but that single appendage in sight was covered in that unmistakable red substance that bespoke of the man's status.

He realized, numbly, that the thrown rock's impact had made hearing and tracking the discharge of her gun impossible. And she had dragged that man away without his having seen or heard anything. All in just a few seconds.

The hair on his neck rose as he realized that the quiet rumors about this...Faith must be even more accurate than he had thought possible.

Making a decision, he moved towards the thick ferns he'd sent his other two men to use as cover. It wasn't a reckless retreat, a headless rush to find safety, but a quick and careful walk that had him dropping between the two soldiers he'd send out just a minute or two before.

"Did you see where the fuck she-" The man's words were cut off as he let out an involuntary gasp.

The man on his left looked like he'd been rolled through mud before he'd been executed. Every single centimeter of exposed skin was covered with dirt and...other fluids. The woman on the right, however, almost looked just fine. But the red splatter that covered both her helmet and the ground nearby meant that somebody had managed to stalk close enough to shoot her in the back of the head, twice by his count, without her having been able to even raise a cry in warning.

A quick assessment of the situation made the events fairly clear to him. _She_ must have managed to stalk up to the duo. She double tapped the woman on the right before dragging the other man through the nearby wet patch of dirt, he now took note of, to keep him occupied. Occupied and silent. Obviously, _she_ had managed to wrestle a man nearly twice her size before finally ending it with a shot to the forehead.

The man's breathing became harsher as he doubled back, hoping to seek shelter under the watchful gaze of the man he'd sent to the sniper blind. This time, his movement was a little less cautious, a little more reckless. But he wasn't fleeing, he told himself, he was regrouping so as to neutralize the final threat on the field.

He still hadn't wondered why he himself had not yet been her prey, still thinking only of gathering his remaining man to assure himself of the man's safety and readiness to face the woman who had made the forest into her hunting ground.

He put a hand to his mouth and warbled their established greeting. He calmed himself and made ready to climb up the large pine that the sniper blind had been carefully concealed in.

He never started that trek though.

Instead, he had gone motionless upon his first sight at the closest branches of the tree. He stood there, stunned, mouth agape in patent disbelief. There was the man he'd assigned to the blind. Except he wasn't _in_ the blind or in any other kind of position one might describe as secure. No, secure was not tied up and hanging head first from a branch perhaps ten feet above the forest floor. His arms and legs had been tied tightly to his body and the rope, and god knows where _she_ managed to acquire _that_, was looped around his feet Those looped feet were attached to the branch where he hung, swaying slightly as he squirmed.

His man was looking at him and was saying something, or shouting something judging by the volume. But the man had been gagged, his mouth stuffed with...

He squinted, trying to figure out what the man had been gagged with. It shouldn't have mattered but the gag was so incongruous to their woodland fatigues and forested surroundings. They were a bright red, almost shiny like satin.

His thoughts stopped.

His friend had been gagged by...panties. Faith's panties, he felt certain. His face went hot and he felt himself flush as he just stared in astonishment. A finger tapped his shoulder and he turned, still too stunned to react the way he should have.

A brunette, beautiful even through the mud encrusted clothes and the camouflage paint that covered her face, stood there with a feral grin and a rifle level with his chest.

Like him, she wore standard woodland combat fatigues, though she had chosen to wear a boonie hat as opposed to a cap or beret. Her smile hadn't abated at his perusal. In fact, that smile had somehow grown wider.

His eyes flicked involuntarily towards her hips as he remembered the red satin...

There was a familiar sound. There was an impact that surprised him enough that he fell back a step. A dumb realization came over him as he realized that he had dropped his weapon when he had seen the last man under his command gagged with...

Another impact.

He ran a hand up his chest and frowned when it came away red. Red like Faith's...

Impact.

"I'll keep doing this for as long as it takes, Staff Sergeant Richards," a husky feminine voice said with no small amount of amusement.

The world came roaring back. He had been shot, several times. Glancing upwards, he saw his squadmate, now also showing evidence of Faith's impressive shooting skills. And still gagged with...

Impact.

"Okay, okay!" he snapped.

"I guess that means we win," Faith said smugly, lowering her paintball gun. She gave the gun a fond pat; it had been a gift from Roger Watts that very much resembled the FN P90 that seemed to be all the rage for many of the SG teams. The gun was a promise, or the promise of a possibility that she, too, might one day hold such a weapon in that capacity. It was also an extremely effective paintball gun, as Staff Sergeant Richards and the men and women that had made up his team had learned over the last couple of hours.

The Air Force Staff Sergeant that Boyd had recommended for this 'play-date' grumbled.

"Go get Airman James down!" he ordered a nearby man, "and ungag him!"

"Why, you want a taste?"

John Richards went beet red and spluttered before a hand settled on his shoulder.

"Easy there, Dickie," Henry Boyd said with a grin. "Dickie, I don't believe you've actually met our Faith Lehane."

Faith winked at Richards before she turned to say something to the man she'd wrestled in the mud with.

"You, Watts, McLeod, and that she-demon just took out three fire teams," Richards complained sourly, "and even if one of those teams was comprised of cadets..."

Jessica McLeod finally made her way to her commanding officer's side. She had a towel and was trying to wipe dirt and red paint from her face. "Oh, get over it, Dickie, you still got half of us in that fucking ambush."

The Staff Sergeant managed to look somewhat mollified until Faith came back to the conversation among the gradually growing crowd of assembled USAF paintball enthusiasts.

"So dinner on you guys next week at O'Malley's, right?" Jessica McLeod asked, smiling.

There was a round of disgruntled acknowledgment as he and the 11 men and women on his team began to make their way out of the course.

"We should play paintball much more often," Faith said with a wistful tone.

"Where did that rope even come from?" A woman who had been taken out by Boyd early in the game asked with a look of something approaching awe in her face.

"Ah, well, y'know," Faith said, with a coy smile, "you never know when you need to tie a man up." She winked at the woman. "Or when you'd like someone to tie _you_ up, hmm?"

The other woman shook her head and laughed at that and walked away with several of her fellow cadets out of the range.

The man who'd been the recipient of both her applied knowledge of ropes and knots as well as her panties was blushing and wouldn't quite look at Faith or his Staff Sergeant in the eyes.

"I think you broke him," Roger Watts observed, waggling his eyebrows.

Faith smiled.

To Richards, that smile seemed far too feline, or possible shark-like. In his perusal of that smile, he was caught off guard when something soft, and somewhat damp, was placed into his hand. He opened his hand, ignoring the sniggers of Boyd and his team. His mouth went dry and he jerked his head upwards to see Faith already a dozen feet away and making her way to the course entrance.

His face flushed yet again as he stood there holding Faith's bright red, satin panties.

"Sorry, Dickie," Faith called out without bothering to turn around, "they're wet because of your airman, but if you still want that taste..."

Faith's peal of laughter echoed in the trees even after her figure had disappeared from sight.

"And that, Dickie, is Faith," Henry Boyd said in a serene voice, though his dancing eyes betrayed his solemn demeanor.

Roger and Jessica chuckled, shaking their heads at the Staff Sergeant's reaction. They understood; they had all had a 'Faith' moment at some point as they grew to know and befriend the woman that they might travel to other worlds with one day.

"Wow," Richards finally said.

"Wow," the others agreed in unison.

* * *

**Lorca: **The contents of the letter have not yet been fully explained. But an invitation to be involved at some level can be inferred, the addition of this chapter make that somewhat obvious. As for the relationship... *shrug* I don't intend to make the story _about _the relationship, but it may be a larger part of the story until that relationship has fleshed out.  
I have a rule of thumb about these kinds of things: Would I be embarrassed if my mother read this? Writing a story that includes a same sex pairing wouldn't phase her. Writing a story that _includes_ the development of a same sex pairing might get me a raised eyebrow. But writing a story _about_ a same sex pairing would get me the crossed arms and tapping foot of doom. It'll be a fine line and I hope that I stay on the right side that'll provide a better story for you.  
**Sorentia: **I wouldn't expect for the story to go quite so dramatic as that. Keep in mind that I haven't yet fully explained how Faith will be interacting with the Stargate program. Plus, the two years that have passed since the initial meeting without there having been a major incident probably gives this particular military group the benefit of the doubt. At this point, I don't really plan on there being any conflict between the supernatural players and the Stargate program. You'll just have to wait and see who the next big bad is.

**Author's Notes: **And I'm back! I'm back and I'm better than ever! My previous work schedule has ended and my new one affords me far more time to write. Indeed, the last few hours of my shifts are almost nothing _but_ free time. This chapter was the result of that free time. I'm going to do my best to post at least one chapter a week, but as always, a warning that sometimes it may not be possible. The story will be removed from it's completion status and moved back to In-progress. As previously decided, I intend to continue this saga in this same FanFiction entry, rather than creating a new story for a new part. Just a preference thing.

Just a heads up, but the first couple of chapters are likely to be long and are meant to present backstory and create a foundation for the next stage of Faith's journey. This story is still about Faith, but Buffy will be becoming a more central role in the story, though I'm still working out the details as to how.

I wasn't sure whether the whole Faith gagging a guy with her panties thing was a little much, but it seemed like the kind of outrageous thing she might do and I just ran with the idea.

I'm predicting that this second part of my story will be considerably longer than the first part and will delve into the recent events of many of the BtVS, AtS, and SG-1 characters in the following chapters. There will also be a discussion regarding Faith's evolution in the past two years along with details about the agreement she made at the end of the first part. One could expect that Faith's familiarity with a P90 might be obvious evidence of that. There's a fic on TtH called _"Life's Ending, Life's Beginning"_ by **becuzitswrong** that is mostly comprised of Buffy going through the Air Force Academy and learning all those Air Force Academy things. I absolutely love that story and I considered doing something similar here but I felt it wouldn't add enough to the overall story.

One of the directions I might lead this story will end up introducing the Stargate Atlantis universe. I'm still considering the idea and have nothing decided yet, but it could be an interesting way to take the story and might be useful to isolate the particular theater this story might develop in

Only one of the named characters in this chapter was made up (and I don't expect him to have any further role in the novel at this time). Henry Boyd, Roger Watts, and Jessica McLeod were all characters from a Stargate novel and possibly mentioned in the tv show itself. Very little is known about most of the other teams' personnel, so I thought SG-10 might be a nice home for Faith. Adding her to SG-1 didn't seem like a good ideal, not with SG-1 being occupied in various ways (which will be discussed in the next few chapters). At this moment, SG-10 knows that Faith is a potential candidate for their team and that she has some powerful backing, but don't know anything about her being the Slayer or the about the supernatural.

A brief blurb on something I mentioned earlier: As far as I know, there is no definitive answer as to how the Slayer lineage passes on. The common theories, from what I know, is that the lineage is directed by the Powers that Be. The other theory is that the power passes to a new recipient due to a combination of genetics (I.e. the Slayer lines) as well as more abstract and possibly random factors. I've always liked the PtB answer, but the existence of the Slayer lines, that the next Slayer could be (judging by history and excluding Buffy) predicted with a high degree of accuracy seems to destroy that notion. Nevertheless, I will include the latter theory while remaining firm in my preference for PtB involvement.

There will be further development of Faith and Buffy's not-quite relationship, though I haven't yet decided how I will do so and at what speed. But there will be definite progress towards that end.


	2. Of All the Gin Joints

**— Thor's Slayers ****—**

**Chapter Two**

_**Of All the Gin Joints...**_

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**Chloe: **Good eye there, Chloe! As it turns out, SG-10 _was _trapped on the edge of a black hole. However, five years after the events that left them in that quagmire, O'Neil and the rest of SG-1 had made it their mission to rescue them. SG-10's personnel were still alive, held in a near stasis because of the time dilation caused by the nearness of the black hole (yeah, some pretty weird science there). These events took place in the book, A Matter of Honor, which took place at some point in the seventh season of Stargate SG-1. To Boyd and his team, it had only been a few hours since being trapped so it had been quite a shock for him to come home and realize he'd missed five years of his daughter's early life.  
**Sorentia:** Glad I'm not the only one to think so!  
**HowlnMadHowie: **I honestly haven't decided how to address reactions to the existence of the supernatural or extraterrestrial from each of the two sides. I do not intend to add flashbacks, but likely an allusion or two. I do like to leave _something_ to the reader's imagination. As for the rest, you'll just have to see.

**Author's Notes: **This is gonna be a long chapter, folks. A long chapter where not a whole lot actually happens. It will, however, provide a lot more details about what has been happening in the last couple of years for all the various BtVS and AtS characters, which is the reason I'm keeping it as one very long chapter as opposed to breaking it up. There will be occasional nods to Buffy season 8+ events, but I am not keeping the rest of the BtVS crowd following that cannon with any significant degree of accuracy. There won't be much Stargate activity yet, either. This chapter, beyond explaining more of what everyone's been up to, will also serve as part of the foundation for the coming story which is mostly: A) In what manner will Faith be involved with the SGC? and B) Buffy/Faith and C) How will B affect A? This chapter will have more to do with B, but also provide a starting point for C.

Since this chapter will be mostly about Fuffy, I'll be posting another chapter in just a few days. I've actually been able to write a lot while I'm at work and then putting it into the computer later. I was hoping to be writing about a chapter ahead of where I actually was, but I'm already close to being finished with chapter 4. Well anyways, here we go.

* * *

#

Faith locked the wood paneled door to her apartment before quickly descending the flight of stairs that led to the apartment's parking lot. She was running a wee bit late, but not enough to be overly concerned.

After the rousing game of paintball, she had driven home to her apartment to clean up before she went back out again to hit her favorite bar. She hadn't had a whole lot of time and in her desire to be on time had forgone any significant measures to appear fashionable and pretty herself up. Instead, she had donned another set of the BDUs that seemed to multiply in her closet. Most of her "civvie" clothes, as Boyd referred to them as, were either dirty or not entirely suitable for the kind of bar she was heading to. _Besides_, she thought with a smirk, _I do love the reaction the uniform always makes._

Hopping into the gunmetal grey Subaru Outback she'd purchased six months ago, she quickly made her way out of the complex, hopping onto I-25 to make the quick journey to the Old Colorado City area.

Driving from her respectable apartment in a respectable part of town with her nice car she'd purchased with a scant 20,000 miles on it...it was a bit of a new experience for her. Never in her life had she believed she'd be ever living this well off. And she hadn't, not until she'd joined the Mayor's payroll.

The Mayor...

Even now, years after his death and all the general badness that was going on, she'd never be able to think of him as the evil snake monster. To her, Richard Wilkins III would always be 'Boss', the only man who had ever really given a damn about her at the time. But her current good fortune wasn't due to her service towards a man who could be called morally ambiguous at best and more often something closer to "evil snake-fuck". Instead, it was a result of the stipend she earned from the new Watcher's Council, one that she'd receive so long as she maintained vigilance over the local supernatural population, kept them in line, and stayed in contact. That stipend was supplemented by an allowance granted to her by the United States government as long as she was making active progress in her goal of becoming a member of the SGC. She wasn't rich, not even well-off, but she was comfortable and being on the government's payroll had some rockin' benefits.

As for her progress in becoming a member of the SGC...

It hadn't been easy. It had been fucking hard, more so than she'd ever expected. Who knew that the military bozos did more than shoot and look pretty in their uniforms?! She'd never given it a whole lot of thought, but that had sure changed when she'd been given a list of things she needed to know or be trained in before they'd even _consider_ the _possibility_ of _maybe_ letting her so much as touch the Stargate. Faith might be able to box like a champ' or knock a guy's head off with a kick, but her Slayer abilities only gave her so much of an edge with everything else she needed to know.

She knew the different ways of killing vampires, knew some of the ways to kill the nastier or rarer demons. But first aid? Survival training? Navigating using a map and compass? Detecting IDEs? She had found herself out of her depth and might have floundered completely if not for the encouragement of the members of SG-1 or from Buffy and Wesley.

Faith's hands tightened around the wheel at the memories thinking of Wesley always brought to the surface. It hadn't been long after they had reconciled, as best they could at least, before Angel had made his move to destroy the Circle of the Black Thorn. That move which had left Gunn bleeding out on the streets while Angel, Spike, and Illyria fought the army the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart had raised against them. While they'd managed to come out of the ordeal with the smurf to show for it, Illyria's appearance didn't help the stab of pain and guilt she felt learning of Wesley's death at the hands of Cyvus Vale.

Faith breathed out slowly. It had been a long two years, but it had been two years that had given her time to grow a little. Yeah, she was still the big bad Faith, but she was _more_ than that now, well a _bit_ more. She smirked, remembering the creative use of her panties from the paintball game. She gave an internal shrug as she finally parked her car outside the fairly nondescript looking bar. A more mature Faith, perhaps, but still Faith in the end.

It _had _been a long two years but if all went well it should all pay off by the end of the month when she had a meeting planned with General Hammond and Major Paul Davis to determine her readiness through a battery of tests and assessments.

She was thinking far too much, she realized, and shook her head as if to clear it. It was time to think of other things. Hearing the music from inside, she nodded towards the frightened bouncer who was all too happy to let her in and be out of her way. She might be the Slayer and he might be a demon, but he should've learned by now that she was no threat to him, not here.

Walking past him, she walked into the newest, most popular, and only bar in Old Colorado City: Caritas_._

#

Silence descended upon the bar the moment she had passed through the red door that marked the entrance to the club. The new Caritas was just that, new. It hadn't attracted a huge following yet, partly due to the relatively sparse demon and vampire population, and partly because the Slayer was well-known as a frequent visitor. And now, that Slayer had walked in...wearing a military uniform. Word of the Initiative had gone out quick through the supernatural underground and as a consequence, the military was no longer seen as a non-threat made up of walking happy-meals.

"Hey sweetcheeks! You get dolled up just for little ol' me?"

And just like that, the music and conversation were back at their normal volume and intensity.

Faith smiled. When it came to Lorne, it was hard _not_ to smile. They'd become somewhat close since Lorne had left Los Angeles and decided to stick around with Faith. The Host had been at loose ends for some time after he'd killed Lindsey and hadn't particularly wanted to settle around any of the old Angel Investigations crowd, not after they'd asked him to kill for them. When everything went down in LA, it was Faith who'd reached out to him first, and she who invited him to join her in Colorado Springs.

No matter how sparse the demon population might be, where there were humans, there were demons, and they'd discovered the usefulness of having their own mini-Switzerland that came with both alcohol, karaoke, and a sanctuary spell.

"Hey gorgeous," Faith replied, stepping forward and giving the horned, green-skinned man a hug.

"Look at you, honey, all back from the war and everything," Lorne said, smoothing out imaginary wrinkles in Faith's clothes.

"Nah, just paintball. Didn't want to be late. Is she here?" Faith asked, peering around at the various tables and booths in the dimly lit interior.

"Oh, honey," Lorne said, and took hold of Faith's shoulders and turned her around. "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine."

Faith turned around and smiled. "Hey, B, how's tricks?"

* * *

Buffy had been driving for over ten hours and was ready to be done with it. Figuring out how to get from St. Louis to Colorado Springs had been a cinch, what with it being nearly a straight shot and all. But she hadn't realized that it didn't matter how simple of a drive it was, ten hours of driving was still ten hours of driving. She had been spoiled by airplanes, she realized, and once again lamented at the tiny excuse for an airport that Colorado Springs boasted. Sure, she could have flown to Denver, but that was a lot of driving too, right? Might as well drive the whole way, right?

Buffy fumed remembered Dawn's look of disbelief. _Stupid driving_, Buffy groused, _and stupid cops and stupid speeding tickets. I saved their lives, the whole world even, and they decided to give me a ticket just because I was driving a little over the speed limit._ In retrospect, maybe barreling down the highway at 95 miles per hour hadn't been the best idea. Thank god she was cute or she might've gotten more than just a speeding ticket, well, three speeding tickets anyhow. _Stupid Kansas cops with nothing better to do._

Buffy sighed and eased the pressure she'd been exerting on the complaining steering wheel. She winced at the slight indentations her hand had left. _Well there goes the deposit. _She pouted, _I__ guess that's why Dawn told me to take a rental._

She drove past a large building that was adorned with the distinctive Olympic rings and relaxed. Faith had told her that when she drove past the Olympic Training Center she'd practically be on Caritas' doorstep within five minutes. She finally took a moment to fully appreciate her surroundings. The downtown area, such as it was, was pretty lame. Not a shopping mall in sight. No wonder demons had no inclination to hang around here. But to the west...to the west were those purple mountains that songs were written about. Capped with white snow, they were a stunning feature of the landscape even as the day began to wane. Definitely a plus in Colorado Springs' favor.

#

A few minutes later, she walked past the car she recognized as Faith's and approached the club that had a bright neon yellow sign displaying 'Caritas.' There was a single entrance to the club that was being watched by what she believed to be a Brachen demon. He was already looking somewhat pale, looking into the club with a worried look. He wore blue jeans and a denim jacket. _Ugh, Colorado._ However...

"Where did you get your cowboy boots?" she asked in a pleasant, definitely non-threatening, voice.

He jerked in surprise when her voice cut the quiet, the sort of quiet that seemed ushered in by the darkening sky. He had been pale before, but now he went full out green and sprouted blue spines as he stumbled back. _Called it_, she thought smugly, _but maybe I need to work on my non-threaten-y voice._

"Slay-y-yer," he stammered and held up his two hands in the universal gesture of 'please don't hurt, kill, or maim me' and made sure to stay clear of the club's entrance by way of an invitation.

Buffy sighed, knowing that she'd have to ask someone else where those fabulous shoes could be found and gave the man a friendly nod and entered the club without another word. It wasn't aggression, she knew, merely an instinctive fear when faced with the boogieman of the demon world and so she took no umbrage at his suddenly inhuman appearance.

Even if she couldn't ask him where he got those cowboy boots, s_ometimes_, she reflected, passing the sign that displayed the cover charge, _it's good to be the Slayer._

#

Buffy took a moment to get a first impression of Lorne's new club. It was fancy, showy but without that false glamour that made some clubs painfully garish. Red carpet, wooden stools and tables. A brass railing that lined the short ramp that led into the club. More brass in hanging lights and at the foot of the dark wooden bar. The club seemed distinctly "L" shaped, with Lorne's familiar karaoke stage at the end of the longest room. It felt warm, good, and the Sanctuary spell that she knew to be there meant it was also safe. It was no wonder that demons, humans, and Slayers alike found themselves here.

There were perhaps a dozen patrons at the moment, most of which were sitting at various corners of the room. She thought she saw a Devil and maybe an Ano-Movic demon, but was most distracted by the figure in front of her.

Her hair was shorter than before, Buffy noticed, just barely falling to her shoulders in loose brown curls. Faith wore a very military-y looking outfit and Buffy couldn't help the smirk at the image of Faith marching in formation while some Drill Sergeant yelled at her. But the smirk died when a smiling Faith was turned around by Lorne and Buffy returned the smile as she met the other girl's dark eyes.

Buffy frowned inwardly, feeling her feet move without her saying so, taking her closer to Faith. The frown turned into a shrug and then into a smile as the brunette's arms enfolded her. They held tightly, those arms, and Buffy's held just as tightly around Faith. Whatever else might happen, at that moment all was well.

* * *

Faith sighed into the embrace, enjoying the warm feeling that Buffy's presence always gave her. Well, when she wasn't going all "evil-Faith", as Willow called it.

They'd come a long way since Sunnydale, she and Buffy. They'd been allies at first, then rivals, and soon enemies. Then Faith had woken from her coma and done her absolute best to ruin Buffy's life. Eventually, and with no small effort on Angel's part, she'd found her way to prison by her own choice. That was probably the only decision she had made in years that she could honestly be proud of. She'd had a lot of time to think in that cell and one thought she'd often had was that there'd be no way in heaven that she'd ever have the chance to make it all up to Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies.

But, as it often seemed when it came to Buffy, she'd been wrong. Granted, it took the very real possibility of the end of the world to give her that chance, but she'd managed to make the most of it. After the First Evil had been defeated, Buffy and she hadn't really been able to define what they were to each other. There was too much pain, too much damage and betrayal that even her recent actions weren't quite enough to clear the slate. But they were no longer enemies and that, Faith knew, meant that the potential to be more than just backup might still exist.

It had been a long two years. Two years since Sunnydale and that time had helped heal some of the other wounds that their past held. While this might be Buffy's first trip to _her_ neck of the woods, they'd seen each other fairly often since Faith had first made her home in the Centennial State. Giles called for a group meeting once every three months at the new Watcher's Council headquarters in Scotland and Faith had enough time on her hands that she was normally able to make those trips.

Every time, in fact, except the time Teal'c and Roger Watts, fresh from his rescue with the rest of SG-10, had come to the conclusion that she was in dire need of survival training in a cold, high altitude environment and had decided that it was their expertise that was needed. Not that she was bitter or anything.

Those meetups in Scotland held the purpose of keeping track of the various groups that now made up the Council, of making sure people were made aware of any abnormalities within the supernatural community, of keeping track of the many new Potentials that were still springing up, and most importantly, providing an opportunity for them all to see each other and _know_ that they were 'okay'.

Faith, much to Major Davis and the rest of the DoD's relief, hadn't told everyone on the Watcher's Council about the Stargate program. Angel, all of the original Scoobies, Spike, Kenny, and Fred were the only ones who knew the exact details.

Faith had instantly decided the biggest, baddest witchy-witch in the world should get a heads up in case flying pyramids descended from the heavens. Of course, since Willow couldn't keep a secret to save her life, Faith had gone ahead and told Kennedy, who was still the significant other of their Red Witch. Dawn and Fred were both told because of each of their own personal knowledge and experiences with portals. Fred had corresponded with Carter for some time, in fact, and had been responsible for some major developments in the SGC's fundamental understanding of the Stargate's inner workings.

However, nobody was quite sure how to react when Illyria had come around after the events in LA or about her own knowledge of the Astria Porta and the Ancients. Illyria had been expressing a discomforting amount of interest in seeing the Stargate and Faith wasn't quite willing to open _that_ can of worms. Not that she could stop Illyria if the Old One actually tried.

Angel knew because he was Angel, and Faith would tell him the truth no matter what, because she owed him everything. His reaction, to nobody's surprise, was to brood on the matter.

As for Spike...well. The guy had underwent the agonizing process of getting himself a soul. He had then allowed himself to burn alive in order to close the Hellmouth. And when he was resurrected, he had continued to fight the good fight. Yeah, he'd earned some trust by that point. However his somewhat nonchalant response to the revelations that aliens had built the pyramids had been something of a letdown. His subsequent question towards Faith about what she thought they might taste like was less so.

Buffy's reaction had been odd, though. Not disbelief or astonishment. No, those green eyes had seen too much for that, but had held a sort of wistfulness that Faith had seen in her own eyes more than once.

Faith had borne witness to Buffy's slow withdrawal from everyone besides. She wasn't sure why Buffy was still receptive to _her_ of all people, but she wouldn't ask; Buffy would tell her if or when she was ready. Buffy's withdrawal, from what Faith could determine, stemmed from two issues. One was the desire to be more than just the Slayer. The ever growing population of trained Slayers all looked up to her, put her on a pedestal, and held her to an impossible standard.

Buffy was tired. Faith saw it every time they met, heard it in the blonde's voice every time they spoke.

Buffy wanted out.

The second reason was more obvious because, even if everyone else seemed to have forgotten, Buffy had been betrayed by the ones she held most dear at the tail end of their fight against the First. She'd forgiven them, of course she had, but she'd never forgotten that moment when her friends and family had told her to leave. She hid that pain well, so well that Faith thought only she, Spike, and perhaps Kennedy of all people really saw it.

Buffy's eyes caught hers and the blonde flinched at whatever she saw in Faith's gaze. Buffy made as if to step back but Faith tightened her arms around the blonde before she gradually released the other Slayer and gave her a warm smile.

"Hey Faith," Buffy said, her white teeth showing with her answering smile.

Faith felt more than a little pleased at the perusal Buffy gave her then; it was a long up and down affair that ended with a raised eyebrow and a corner of her mouth tilted up.

"Nice threads, Faith, looking more than a little butch, I think," she finally said.

Oh, Faith wouldn't let this one go. She tried to keep the innuendos down around Buffy, she really did, but with a line like that...

"B, when I go butch, babe you won't even be _able_ to think."

Buffy went a bright red and did a fair impression of a fish on dry land but Lorne's delighted laughter halted any possibility of delivering a retort.

Lorne looped his arms through both Faith and Buffy's and led them deeper into the club. "Come on, dolls! I haven't heard anything that might be charitably called talent from the locals yet, I want to hear a good tune from the two of you by the end of the night."

Buffy smiled, Faith's comment forgotten, and went up to her tip-toes to give Lorne a kiss on the cheek. "'kay Lorne. How about a sea breeze?"

Lorne sighed and pressed his hands to his heart. "A girl after my own heart. How about you, sweetie?"

Faith shrugged. "Guinness?"

"So stubbornly Irish," he said with an air of disappointment, "alright girls, I'll have your drinks in a moment."

#

Buffy took a sip of the sea breeze Lorne had given her and sighed in pleasure. Demon or no, man knew how to make a drink. Across from her, Faith was smiling at her.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"Nothing, B, you just look...content." Faith regretted the words the moment they left her mouth. Buffy's look of satisfaction had disappeared, replaced with one of contemplation and melancholy.

"You're looking good, Faith."

Faith frowned at the non sequitur and shot a questioning look at Buffy.

"Faith, I think you might be one of the only ones who isn't afraid to call me out on my bullshit. You and I both know that I'm not...happy. I haven't been in a long, long time. I've been satisfied at times, but I don't feel the need to rehash things." Buffy tapped her finger on the wooden surface of their table in emphasis. "Now. Faith. You look good."

Faith let it go. For now. "I _am_ good, B. It won't be long now till I might have the go ahead to work at the mountain."

Buffy's lips thinned a bit. "I'm happy for you, but Illyria is getting...impatient."

Faith closed her eyes and banged her head on the table. "Even if we 'let' her come to the SGC, how the _fuck_ am I supposed to explain the presence of a more or less god to a group of soldiers who _fight_ self-proclaimed gods? And what do you think is gonna happen when she starts her 'muck beneath my feet' speech!?"

Buffy gave her a sympathetic look. "We...you, will have to do something about her eventually, Faith." Faith banged her head harder but stopped when a hand patted her shoulder. "We'll talk about it later, butch," Buffy said, smiling faintly.

Faith lifted her head and took a long drink of her beer before she let herself forget about Old Ones and Stargates.

#

"So how's the centaur?"

Buffy gave Faith a dirty look. "Dawn's fine, Faith. And please don't say stuff like that around her."

"Would I do that?" Faith asked with a look none would ever confuse with innocent.

Buffy glared at her. "She's doing fine. Almost done with her degree at Washington University. She isn't sure what to do after she earns her degree, though. There aren't exactly a whole lot of opportunities for linguists with a focus on dead languages."

Faith's eyebrows raised. "She tryin' to figure out if she wants to stay in the family biz?"

Buffy nodded an unhappy smile. "I'm finally learning to let her make her own decisions, but damnit..."

"And Spike? He still hanging around?"

Spike's appearance after his death had been an awkward affair for all parties concerned. Buffy had beaten the ever-living shit out of the blonde vampire upon finally learning of his survival after he'd been in Los Angeles for so long. Andrew had managed to escape with just a black eye for his role in keeping Spike's resurrection from reaching her ears but she had been furious at anyone who had kept it from her.

Spike...

There was a constant tension between Angel, Cordelia, Spike, and Buffy whenever they were in the same general vicinity. Angel and Buffy _were_ through, but that didn't stop Queen C's insecurity or Spike's irritation with 'the Poof'. But Spike wasn't ultimately sure of what he wanted. He had spent so much time pining after Buffy that he hadn't really realized he'd only been in love with the idea of Buffy.

So Spike had left.

He checked in now and then, occasionally helped out in Scotland or Cleveland, but most of his time throughout that first year had been spent on walkabout. He learned what it meant to just be him, a vampire with a soul without a Slayer to love or have watching over his back.

It had been good for him, indisputably so, and so his appearance on Dawn and Buffy's doorstep in St. Louis had been far less dramatic than it could have been. He was lonely and had no desire to hang around his sire or the Scoobies and had actually _asked_ Buffy if she'd mind if he stayed in town. Buffy had said yes.

Faith had been dubious upon hearing that, but Spike had managed to build a life of his own. One that included Buffy without revolving around her. Even more surprising had been the new object of his affection, the younger Summers sister. That had been all kinds of dramatic and awkward but it seemed that Spike's feelings were genuine, and not a desperate attempt to find a copy of Buffy. Dawn's crush from years before had become something more, making Buffy's presence in her younger sister's life increasingly unwelcome.

And so, Buffy was being pushed out again. Not intentionally, not unexpectedly, not unkindly, but inevitably.

Buffy tapped her finger on the table for a moment. "Yeah, he is. I think he...I think he might be...engaging...with Dawn."

Faith gave Buffy a confused look. "B...what do you mean engaging...with...?"

Buffy looked uncomfortable. "You know..."

Faith frowned for a moment before she began laughing. "Engaging like...doing the nasty? Bumping uglies? Knockin boots? Boinkin' like rabbits? Getting their freak on?"

Buffy _growled_ at her and kicked Faith's shin from under the table. To the younger Slayer's irritation, Faith's laughter endured her wrath.

Faith finally managed to calm down, doing her best to ignore Buffy's petulant look. Catching Lorne's eye, she sighed. "Alright, B, Lorne looks like he's ready to pop. Time to let that inner diva of yours out to play."

Buffy turned to see an impatient Lorne tapping his foot, nodding his head towards the empty stage.

"Do I have to go first?" Buffy whined.

"Yes." Faith's answer was implacable and resolute.

Buffy sighed and went up the steps that led to a microphone, a small screen nearby ready to provide the words for a designated song. Heaving a sigh, she made her selection.

#

Faith nodded along with Buffy's attempt to sing. A warrior, she might be. The Chosen One of the Powers that Be. The Slayer of vampires and the forces of darkness. But a singer, she was not. And Sheryl Crow, she most certainly was not. She winced again as Buffy hit another wrong note. "Soak Up the Sun" wasn't all that difficult a song, but Buffy was doing her best to beat it to a pulp and murder it.

The Angel of Mercy graced the bar with its presence at long last as Buffy sang the final verse to the song. Buffy walked back to Faith's table, cheeks pink as a few brave patrons clapped for the Slayer.

Faith gave her a long look. "Wow."

"Shut up, Faith."

"Just...wow."

Buffy kicked her shin again and pouted.

Faith had to admit, it was a lethal pout.

"Your turn," Buffy said with a smirk.

Faith shrugged, "Wicked." Without another word she made her way to the stage. Buffy should have known that a little singing wouldn't scare her. Hell, she was the girl who enjoyed dancing on table tops when she was _way_ underage.

_Now, what to sing, what to sing,_ she pondered, scrolling down the list. She smiled.

#

_"I kissed a girl and I liked it. __The taste of her cherry chap stick..."_

She should have been expecting something like this, Buffy knew. But this...the song and Faith's hip movements and the looks the darker haired girl occasionally sent her made her face heat up. She had never been entirely armored against the girl, but this...

Buffy blushed again as Faith winked at her. It was Buffy, this time, who banged her head against the table. That, and try the best she could to ignore her own body's response to those swiveling hips and those heated looks she was the recipient of.

She looked up again, blushed, and looking everywhere else but the stage until the song finally ended. Buffy looked up to see Faith, somewhat flushed from her exertions flop into the chair opposite her.

However before either Slayer could say anything, Lorne dragged a chair to the table which he then took a seat in.

He wasn't looking like the world was about to end or like one of them was about to croak, which was of the good. But he wasn't smiling either. He looked worried and confused. "Alright dolls, what I got was...complicated to put it mildly. Remember, what I say isn't set in stone and they aren't guarantees; it is advice based purely on what I saw in your possible paths."

The two young women nodded.

Lorne turned towards Faith first. "Sweetcheeks, you're going on a trip. A long one and somewhere far from here. That part seems like a done deal. The Powers that Be aren't done with you just yet, and if you go there, you can count on there being slaying for you to do. I think you already know most of this, but I'm pretty sure you'll find something good if you continue on your current path." The anagogic demon paused and then winced. "I have a feeling that our Fred lookalike will be part of your path as well. Good luck with the Old One, sweetie."

Faith groaned.

Lorne placed a hand under Buffy's chin and lifted it so that they could meet each other's gaze. "You, Buffy-girl, don't have quite so clear cut a path. But you _do_ have a path, and like Faith, the Powers that Be aren't done with you either. You could have a future in Scotland or the Hellmouth or even St. Louis. You could have a future and be content. But I don't see you being happy in any of those cases."

Buffy's breath hitched. "Do you ever see me being happy?" she asked in a small voice.

Faith shifted her attention elsewhere, feeling like she was intruding and thus missed Lorne's next quiet words.

Lorne leaned down and said in a much quieter voice, "I think you already know, B. Time to try something new, honey, do something fabulous, something out of this world." With those last words of advice, Lorne offered her a wink before he sashayed towards another customer who had been waving to get his attention.

The two girls were quiet, lost in their own thoughts.

Faith jumped when she felt Buffy put a hand on her arm. "You ready to head out, Faith?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, you still stayin' at my place?"

"Still offering?"

"Yep."

"Yep it is, then."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **There are going to be a few lengthy Author's Notes sections in the chapters to come. Part of this will be explaining my thought process about moving the plot forward and some of it will be filling in details about the story that might not have been fully explained. If you didn't get the quote from Lorne or the chapter title, shame on you. The title alone should give you an idea of where things are heading. (Goa'uld are space-Nazis?)

Also, I am aware that Katy Perry's song, "I Kissed a Girl and I Liked it," wasn't written anywhere near this time. That song was released in 2008 whereas this story is taking place around 2005. So...tough, it worked too well here. Part I of this story took place in 2003 and matched Stargate Season 7 with Buffy Season 7 perfectly. This story takes place two years later, but only one year would have passed in Stargate cannon.

Character clarifications based on what I've written: Fred is dead, Illyria is very alive. Probably the biggest different is that Cordelia is alive, still a seer, and not she-bitch evil. Wesley was killed per canon and Gunn died in LA immediately after the Circle of the Black Thorn had been destroyed. The latter wasn't canon by way of Season 8, but it seemed like an inevitability at the series finale. I did made a brief reference to Janet Frasier last chapter. In the show, she was killed off in season 7, so the events in my story are not incompatible with that fact. I'm not sure it will matter a whole lot about whether I keep her around so I might leave her fate as open. The Scoobies/Slayers are in Scotland and Cleveland (I'm ignoring the other Hellmouths) which I believe is canon-ish. Dawn and Buffy in St. Louis however is very not-canon. I liked them there because it's almost directly between Colorado and Cleveland. Dawn attending WashingtonU gave a plausible reason for their being there. I have not yet stated exactly what Buffy and Spike were doing there. I may go into detail later, I may not.

Fuffy: I'm going to do my best to avoid making it the central pillar of my story. It's gonna be pretty involved in the early portion of Part II, but it'll taper off into more of a background element after it's been established. I've tentatively planned out that this will be the only chapter that centers exclusively on them and their relationship. I had thought about losing the romance, but I think Faith is such a sensual character that losing it altogether would've been awful. And Buffy? Well, as I've said, I always liked their dynamics.

A few things about my knowledge of Colorado Springs and why I made certain decisions with the setting and places of interest. I was, in fact, born and raised in Colorado Springs, the city that Cheyenne Mountain and NORAD overlook. "The Springs" is the second largest city in the state with over 400,000 inhabitants (making it the 40th largest city in the United States). Colorado Springs is pretty deceptive about its size though, the city sprawling outwards rather than upwards; downtown Colorado Springs is pretty laughable compared to any other major city's skyline.

The Air Force Academy, NORAD, Peterson Air Force Base, and Fort Carson are all within about 20 minutes of downtown, hence my occasional references to a very present, very visible military population. Truthfully, I didn't notice much of a military presence, Air Force or otherwise, when I was growing up. Some of that could just be due to the fact that I was young and as self-absorbed as any teenager, but looking back I just don't have much any memory of seeing service personnel. The Air Force presence, or lack thereof, is pretty easy to explain: the cadets at the Academy generally remained there (keep in mind that the Academy is the Air Force equivalent of West Point or the Naval Academy in Annapolis, it is a school and the cadets don't have a lot of freedom to carouse).

Peterson Air Force Base's active duty roster isn't all that large either, approximately a quarter that of Fort Carson. Still, I don't really remember seeing any soldiers from Fort Carson hanging around either, though given Colorado Spring's fairly nonexistent nightlife (the bar/club type, not the vampire/demon variety) it's somewhat understandable. I think what I'm trying to say is that, to my recollection, I'm taking liberties in making the military a much greater part of Colorado Springs than it really is.

Old Colorado City is a tiny section of Colorado Springs that spans just a few blocks. It was the first territorial capitol of the Colorado territory for all of about five days before it was moved to Denver. I liked the idea of moving Caritas to the area because of the old world feeling that sometimes pervades that section of town (think prospecting and mining). I thought it was a good spot because it was only a few minutes from downtown without being any closer to any of the big bad military boys. I know Lorne had a fascination and appreciation for bright lights, glitter, and 'showbiz' (all the things that Colorado Springs is most certainly _not_), but I liked bringing in Lorne as a way of keeping the world of BtVS involved in the story. At the end of AtS, it's pretty clear that Lorne is more or less done with the Angel Investigations crew, so perhaps a quieter place for him to be The Host would be a nice change of pace. That was my thought process, at least.


	3. Changes

**— Thor's Slayers ****—**

**Chapter Three**

_**Changes**_

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Phew! That last chapter was quite the doozy. The first draft I wrote was about half the length of the final version of the chapter but I really wanted to fit in as many details and as much background on the BtVS/AtS crowd as I could. There were some gaps, I acknowledge, and I'll do my best to slowly fill them in as I continue. I suppose what I was aiming for was to put out that info-dump so I could avoid periodic narratives in the middle of other chapters to explain all of the minutia of the last two years. As it turns out, that chapter was the single longest chapter I've ever written on this website by almost 1500 words. Yay? It might also please you to know that most of these first chapters will be much longer than the Part I chapters.

So again, to reiterate my plans and also to keep myself on track. These initial chapters will be very much about Faith and Buffy: about the last two years, about their future, about their evolving relationship. For those of you who aren't a big fan of that relationship, again this should be a primary story element only in the early stages of this part of the story. I also said before that I believe this part will be much longer than the first, and I meant it, especially at the pace I'm currently taking the story. However, that pace _will_ change in the next chapter or two as the plot begins to develop. This chapter will include some of the details about the previous two years from the Stargate side of things. The slight alteration of the timeline will obviously make certain events a little more flexible for my story. If Faith's interactions with SG-1 or the rest of the SGC aren't very clear by the end of the chapter, I'll try to include a more detailed layout in the Author's Notes at the end of the chapter.

A quick note: my choice of vehicles for Faith wasn't all that deliberate. I'd told myself that she wasn't getting a mom car/van or a truck or some tiny ass sports car. The Subaru Outback is listed as one of, if not the most popular vehicles in Colorado. That was pretty much my only reasoning there.

* * *

#

Faith led Buffy into her apartment, closing the door softly behind Buffy. Faith didn't say anything, giving the blonde a chance to evaluate her domicile, feeling unexpectedly nervous at the other Slayer's slow perusal of her surroundings. Posters of music groups, a beer cap collection along with more than a few weapons decorated the walls of her home. To an experienced eye, the very sharp edge of the various knives, swords, dirks, and axes made their status as weapons extremely questionable, though no questions had ever been asked. The living room featured a linen couch along with two back leather chairs, all of which faced a very large flat-screen TV, the latter of which had been the result of one of her few splurges. A small workstation with her laptop and a small printer had also made itself home in that room.

With a well-stocked wet bar that helped divide the kitchen area from the living room, Roger Watts had jokingly said it was one of the closest things to a man cave that he'd ever seen in person, including Jessica McLeod's own bachelorette pad. Faith had noticed that Watts never mentioned this when he, McLeod, and occasionally Boyd and his family came over to watch the Broncos or Avalanche game on the TV, a TV which boasted a better picture than any of theirs. Yeah, the TV had been worth it.

Seeing Buffy smile slightly as she continued her examination, Faith gave the other Slayer a small nudge and a questioning look.

"It's just..." Buffy seemed to search for the right words. "Normal. I mean, the Mayor gave you a really nice apartment..." Buffy winced at the memory of the Mayor and his gift to Faith. It was something the Scoobies _should _have done for Faith before things went up that proverbial creek without so much as a paddle. "...but you made that into your 'crib' and this isn't a crib, Faith. This is a home," she finished.

Faith took in the other girl's words and nodded a little shakily. She might have that large TV and the wet bar, but gone were the game consoles and piles of games, the pantry full of junk food, the six-packs of beer, all of the evidence that indicated that it was inhabited by a teenager, not a woman. Well, she'd known she'd grown up a bit and here was just more proof of that fact. Almost more important than that self-recognition was the acknowledgment from Buffy she'd received.

Buffy finally moved forward and carried one of the large black suitcases from the Outback into the living room and set it behind the stone grey linen couch. That large suitcase seemed as if it was almost as big as Buffy herself and Faith fought a smile.

"Jeez B, what did you bring with you, your shoe collection?" she teased.

"No," Buffy said somewhat absently, "this is mostly clothes and weapons. I still need to go back out and get my shoes."

Faith stared at her and was quiet for long enough that Buffy finally looked up and caught Faith's expression. "What? You never know when you might need a different pair of heels! And stupid swords and crossbows take up _way_ too much room. Why do they call them _short_ swords, anyways!?"

Faith was unable to stop the next words from leaving her mouth. "Buffy, they're _short _swords for non-midgets."

Buffy glared at her. "I know where you live now, Faith, watch it."

Faith grinned unrepentantly.

Buffy sighed and flopped down on the couch, groaning as she sunk into the comfortable piece of furniture. "I may never move from this spot again. That drive _sucked._"

Faith hopped onto the couch next to her, making Buffy yelp in surprise and punch the brunette's leg in retribution. Faith shrugged it off and turned on the TV but kept it at a low volume, a distraction rather than an actual focus for their attention. "You want to talk about it?"

"About what?" Buffy hedged.

"About St. Louis? Spike and Dawn? Whatever Lorne told you? Take your pick."

Buffy's shoulders drooped. "No."

"Alright," Faith said easily, and reached for the remote to turn up the TV's volume.

"Yes."

Faith rolled her eyes and sat back. "Speak, Slayer, and I will listen."

#

**Ten minutes later...**

"I mean, I'm not jealous or anything but why _him_?" Buffy said with a grimace. "I mean, I can finally be around him without him looking at me like the only thing he wants in the world are for my legs to be wrapped around him. And now it's Dawn he wants, which is _just_ as uncomfortable!" After a moment, the blonde blushed at her own words.

Faith, however, grimaced at Buffy's words. "Maybe, but from what I've heard, Dawn has been crushin' on that vamp since before Glory. Crushes usually go away, but if that crush suddenly becomes receptive, well it's not _too _surprising, is it?"

"No," Buffy acknowledged, "but..."

"But they want to be together, and you looming in the background ain't helpin'."

"I'm not looming! I don't loom!" Buffy argued, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Buffy, you don't have to be a regular sized person to loom over someone else." Faith winced at the solid punch Buffy delivered to her thigh for the remark. "You being there, no matter how much you try to disappear around them, is a reminder of things neither of them want to be reminded of. No girl wants to have their man's ex hanging around, and no man wants their ex around when they're bangin' that ex's little sister."

"Faith!" Buffy's eyes had gone wide in disbelief and her mouth had dropped open.

"Sorry, B, it's true. I figure that's the reason Dawn wants to live on her own, right?"

Buffy nodded unhappily.

"You said it yourself earlier: time to let the niblet make her own decisions," Faith advised, intentionally using Spike's own endearment for Dawn. "God, and since when did I become Dr. fuckin' Phil?!"

Buffy chuckled. "Face it Faith, we all know you've been through a lot, seen a lot, more than any of us probably know other than Angel. You also have a bit of a reputation when it comes to...sex, so you're looking pretty attractive as our own mini life coach. And no one wants to talk to Angel or Spike about sex and Giles...ew."

"B, just because I'm a fan of riding a young strapping lad as much as I am of going down on a girl does not make me an expert on 'interpersonal relationships'."

Buffy blushed and gave Faith a look of disbelief. "I can't believe you just said that!"

"Which part, eating a girl out or the bit about relationships?"

Buffy went even redder and didn't deign to answer Faith.

Faith decided to answer even if Buffy wouldn't rise to the bait. "Well, B, you know I've been taking a lot of classes here. It's not all about firearms and explosives, ya know? When we're discussing the snakes, discussing psychology is a big part of the whole false god thing. Interpersonal relationships are important to understand-"

Faith winced again when Buffy gave a hard punch to her thigh in the same exact spot as before.

"So what are we gonna do now?" Buffy asked when her face returned its normal color.

"I don't know, B. How long did you plan on crashin' here, anyways?"

Buffy's features gained something of a lost look, uncomfortable, sad, and maybe even a little helpless. "I don't know, until you get tired of me?"

The joke fell flat. "B, you're far too much fun for me to ever get tired of you." Faith was quiet for a moment, watching Buffy fidget in the silence. "Dawn's already had a chat with you about moving out, huh?"

Buffy nodded.

Faith sighed. "Fuck. Need some time to get your head straight?"

The blonde nodded again.

Faith nodded and stood up, looking at Buffy until green eyes met hers. "Alright then, chica, here's the plan. Tonight we're gettin' in our jammies and watchin' a comedy. I'm thinking Underworld. Tomorrow I'm taking you to meet some of my new pals. After that, we'll just have to see."

Buffy had smirked at the mention of Underworld and perked up at the notion of meeting some of the members of the mysterious non-Initiative-y military group that Faith had sort of discovered with a little help from Thor. "Am I gonna get to meet the famous Jack O'Neill?"

Faith's good mood dimmed at that. "No, not Jack. Jack is sort of...comatose. He got a major info-dump popped into his brain and it was apparently killing him. I didn't get many details other then that they'd put him into stasis while they try to find a way to fix him."

Buffy looked disappointed and Faith knew why. Faith had definitely been upselling her favorite local silver fox and she had been telling Buffy that she and Jack were likely to get on like a house on fire.

"No, B, instead we're gonna meet with a few folks that have been stuck on the edge of a black hole for the last five years. Then, I'm taking you shopping."

"Marry me," Buffy demanded and didn't appear to regret those words at all. Shopping was serious business, after all.

Faith just laughed at that. "Now get those jammies on, Blondie, and I'll take care of the movie. And just so you know, pajamas and I usually aren't a thing, but for your delicate sensibilities, I'll deal."

#

**October 21st, 2005**

Buffy woke up.

It was dark, almost black if not for the faint dim light emitted by the TV. There was nothing on that TV anymore, their movie having long since ended. She was under an extremely soft red blanket that she dimly recalled Faith covering her with around the time she'd started falling asleep. She should probably have felt disoriented or uncomfortable, but she didn't. Not even when she felt a hand that belonged to Faith curled around her hip and felt the girl's warm breath teasing the small hairs at the nape of her neck.

There was a moment, a long moment where she nearly gave into her knee-jerk reaction. Scrambling away, expressing righteous anger, and assigning blame. It was a long moment where she considered doing all of that. But this wasn't some scheme of Faith's. They'd watched Underworld, laughed at it and slowly gave into their bodies' demand for sleep.

Buffy distinctly remembered Faith getting up to go to her own bed just as she remembered her pulling Faith back onto the couch. The couch where they, in their slumber, had gradually curled around one another. Most of all, she remembered what Lorne had said.

With her knowledge of the Stargate, she didn't have to be a genius to figure out that Faith going on a long trip and somewhere far from here probably didn't allude to an extended vacation in Rio. Based on what Faith had told her, the suggestion that the trip would be an extended one was unusual. She made note of it as something to ask Faith about if she decided to pursue that path, given that it implied leaving Dawn, the Scoobies, and everyone else behind for _some_ length of time.

And then there was what Lorne had said to _her_. She wasn't entirely oblivious when it came to Faith, not in the past and not now. But back then there had been too...much going on. Angel, Giles and the Cruciamentum, Gwendolyn Post, Wesley...just too much that was a daily distraction that made it easy to avoid thinking about hard things. That's not even counting the avalanche of bad that was sparked by Finch's death at the hands of Faith. It wasn't long after that, that Buffy genuinely wanted to kill the Dark Slayer, had wanted to hurt her and make her pay for the terrible things she had done.

But she hadn't been oblivious. If she hadn't understood or felt receptive of Faith's feelings for her, she _had _known of them. Even in the worst times of those dark days those feelings had been in the open for Buffy, buried in venom, anger, and hurt but still there regardless.

_Give us a kiss..._

From what Lorne had seen, her best bet in being happy, not merely content, was with Faith and whatever journey the Dark Slayer had ahead of her. Unlike _then_, now there was no conflict with Angel, Spike, or Drusilla. No betrayal from Post or Giles. Not even a big bad in sight. And now Buffy felt confident that the feelings Faith had held for her years ago hadn't gone away. Unlike _then_, maybe Buffy _did_ understand them now. And maybe...

She stiffened, feeling Faith's hand begin to move upwards from her waist. Faith mumbled something unintelligible as her hand moved under her tank top to rest on her bare stomach. When the hand stayed there, Buffy managed to relax and slowly closed her eyes.

And maybe Buffy didn't just understand Faith's feelings now, but returned them as well. Strangely the thought didn't bother her all that much. Buffy fell asleep just moments later.

* * *

"Major Boyd?"

Major Henry Boyd looked up from the stack of old mission reports that he'd been catching up on to see SG-1's famed linguist and archaeologist standing over his table in the mess hall. "Doctor Jackson, how can I help you?"

"Call me Daniel, please."

"Alright Daniel, then call me Henry. I think helping to rescue me and mine from a black hole deserves some familiarity."

"Fair enough," Daniel said with a smile, "and don't think I ever forget that you helped get us all back from the Kinahhi." But the smile disappeared and he looked uncomfortable standing there in his black shirt and green tactical pants. "I know that you and your team are close with Faith Lehane; in fact I believe I heard something in the hallway just now about panties and paintball?"

Boyd grinned.

"Anyway, I was hoping that you'd ask her to stay away from the SGC for a short time. I don't have the time to get outside the complex right now and I'm under a bit of a microscope."

Boyd frowned. He didn't know why Faith's status at Cheyenne Mountain was so ambiguous or why her clearance level was as high as his and there were moments like this that reminded him of that lack of understanding. Then again, with the change of perspective gained by spending five years trapped on the event horizon of a black hole, perhaps Faith's undefined role at the SGC wasn't all that peculiar. But why would Dr. Jackson want Faith to away...

"The System Lords?"

Dr. Jackson nodded. "It would be best if they had no knowledge of her."

He was careful in how he'd phrased that, Boyd noticed, and decided to cast a line. "You mean they might be interested in our own resident six million dollar woman? One whose performance don't seem to be hampered by the lack of those six million dollar parts?"

Jackson gave him a sharp look. "What has she told you?"

That line had certainly caught _something,_ but he wasn't sure what. Faith would tell him if she wanted but there was definitely something to be told, though he'd had his suspicions practically since the day they'd been introduced by General Hammond. "Nothing Dr. Jackson, but I'm not blind. That whole "Run faster! Jump higher! Hit harder!" thing isn't all that subtle, especially whenever she's feeling competitive. Would the System Lords really be _that_ interested in her in the midst of the talks?"

Jackson appeared thoughtful. "Hard to say, truthfully. I doubt they'd pull anything while they're here or even in the near future. The System Lords have a lot on their plates to deal with, but they also have long memories and at some point they'd investigate her. But it's not just Faith we want to protect, Henry, it's..." The archaeologist searched for the right words. "It's also about protecting who and what she represents."

"You know Jackson, you could be _more_ cryptic if you really, _really_ tried," Boyd said sourly.

The archaeologist gave him an apologetic look. "It's Faith's story-"

Boyd held up a hand. "I know, I know, Daniel," Boyd assured him. "My minions and I are meeting her and a friend of hers at Garden of the Gods for a picnic and a rousing game of horseshoes. I'll make sure to take a moment to talk to her about the Goa'uld equivalent of the three stooges and to make herself scarce from Cheyenne Mountain."

Daniel smiled at that. "I'd appreciate it," Daniel said seriously. "Also..." The archaeologist sat down in the unoccupied seat across from Boyd and spoke quietly. "Weir doesn't know anything about Faith either and it would be best if it stayed that way."

Boyd leaned back and gave Daniel a steady look. "Keeping something from your CO rarely ends well, Jackson."

"Good thing she has no rank to pull then, Major."

_That_ was splitting hairs, and they both knew it. Boyd looked at Daniel then, a long searching look. Whatever the archaeologist knew about Faith, Daniel didn't want others to find out. The rumors of her first appearance at the base, her occasional slip that revealed reflexes and strength far beyond human normal, whatever secret she had... "Did Colonel O'Neill or General Hammond know about her?"

"They both knew everything."

"There's always some quiet chatter about Faith, Daniel, she's a hard person to forget. Case in point: panties and paintball. I can't promise that Weir won't learn about Faith, but Weir won't hear it from me," Boyd said quietly.

Jackson nodded his thanks and stood up. He was turned to leave when he stopped and gave Boyd a confused look. "You're going to play _horseshoes?_"

Boyd grimaced. Heather was _not_ happy with him. It was more proof that the woman who had still called him husband after being MIA for five years was an absolute saint. "Horseshoes, Daniel. Horseshoes with large amounts of alcohol and a new drinking game she wants us to play. She left a message earlier at my house to let me know that beer was for pussies and we'll be playing for shots. Heather made sure I got the message."

Daniel couldn't help the loud laugh that escaped him. "That sounds more like her. Just make sure you talk to her _before_ she drinks you under the table."

Boyd gave the man a rude gesture before he returned to his reading.

* * *

**October 15th, 2005**

Sam settled into the other chair at the front of the Tel'tak and exchanged a look with Teal'c. They both wanted O'Neill back, for different reasons perhaps, but they shared the same need to have Jack back where he belonged. There had been nothing on Earth that could have healed him and so they were trying a different avenue.

Sam had gone so far as to contact Willow Rosenberg, whom Faith had suggested she contact to see if magic might have an answer for Jack's condition. Magic was still hard to for her to deal with; just acknowledging its existence almost felt like a betrayal of everything she'd ever strove for. But it was Jack and so she'd contacted the young witch.

Sam hadn't seen whatever Willow had seen or done, but evidently the vial of Jack's blood she'd produced had been enough for Willow to determine that her efforts would be wasted. The witch, whom both Faith and Fred had implied was one of, if not _the_ most power magic user on the planet, had said that O'Neill's mind was fractured...fragmented. Willow, in her somewhat awkward and charming way, had suggested that he needed a good defrag. Sam had _almost_ smiled at that.

The mind was a delicate place, one that could be easily damaged if tampered with or abused and Rosenberg had said that it would take not only her level of power but also a degree of control that was far beyond her ken.

And now Teal'c and she were in hyperspace en route to Hala in order to make contact with the Asgard. If there was any specials that might be both willing _and _able to help, it was the Asgard. The advanced species held Jack in high regard, especially Thor. If they were lucky, it would be the Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet who they encountered.

After several failed attempts to converse with Teal'c, she sat back and did her best to relax.

* * *

**October 18th, 2005**

Dr. Elizabeth Weir sighed and massaged her temples. For a race that liked to play as gods, the Goa'uld could be annoyingly childish and petty at times. Daniel Jackson, no matter how much he'd rather be with his teammates searching for a cure for Colonel O'Neill, had done an admirable job at handling their System Lord visitors. It wasn't just Yu and the others who were at the forefront of her mind, however.

No, it was all of the other nations of _this_ world who were helping contribute to her growing headache. Respected diplomat she might be, but handling a large group of nations who wanted a piece of the pie that was the Stargate program was trying her patience. At least Jackson only had three egotistical maniacs with delusions of godhood to deal with.

Catching up on Stargate Command's mission debriefs, action reports, and all the various documentation that was this program's written history wasn't all that simple either. She went over it, not only to understand it for her own benefit as the new leader of the Stargate program, but also to figure out a way to present the program in a light that didn't make it look like it had been a series of disasters and calamities from which we were always rescued at the last minute. It was difficult because, from what she'd learned, that is exactly what it appeared to be. But it hadn't been gainless, that was indisputable.

Earth's alliance with the Asgard and the growing arsenal, and _understanding_ of said arsenal, were heavy weights on the United States' side when it came to the ongoing debate about the program's operations and management. Even the alliance with the Tok'ra, such as it was, was a clear benefit that the SGC had produced.

Elizabeth was feeling increasingly certain that her position was a temporary one, a very temporary one. That was okay, her appointment to the command of the Stargate program might have been a political maneuver of Kinsey's but that didn't mean she didn't have a job to do. Whatever the United States was working on with the rest of the world was big. Just a few days ago she'd been told that her predecessor was likely to head whatever new program they were preparing, an agency that would be closely associated with the Stargate program. What she was doing now was important, not just for her benefit or for whoever would follow her but also for this future organization that might benefit from what she doing.

She straightened and opened the next folder. By the time Elizabeth had finished reading, she was shaking her head and almost laughing. A time loop on P4X-639. That this sort of report could be considered "business as usual" said a lot about the program and the people who believed in it. So maybe she was okay with handing the SGC over to someone else, but she couldn't imagine going back to her old life as a diplomat after this.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I came very close to bumping the story up to an 'M' rating from some of the blunt comments and slightly suggestive material made this chapter but I toned down the word choice and tried to keep it T+ friendly. However, I feel like that a possible rating change is becoming inevitable as the romance (such as it may be) and the violence (which will be increasing) increases in volume and in intensity. If that rating changes though, I want it to be worth it and not for some off the cuff repartee.

I had considered elaborating on Buffy's job in St. Louis and making it something that was related to the military, read Air Force, read SGC but I really wanted to make it clear that the SGC and the BtVS side of things, though aware of each other, have more or less stayed separate. I thought the idea of Fred interacting with the SGC was perfect because...hello scientist studying portals?

The Garden of the Gods is a large public park that is between the Air Force Academy and Cheyenne Mountain.

If anyone is a fan of Anne Bishop, they might have caught a familiar line in this chapter from her _Others_ series.


	4. Supermassive Black Hole

**— Thor's Slayers ****—**

**Chapter Four**

_**Supermassive Black Hole**_

* * *

**Nedy Rahn: **I think I went to Cave of the Winds once (and oh my god I can't even believe I remember that) when I was a wee lad. You were right about the National Guard unit but something you said got me thinking. You mentioned Army units within Stargate Command and I can't for the life of me remember there being any actual Army personnel there. I just remember them referring to the redshirts as "Airman" with the occasional "Technical Sergeant." The local Air Force base (Peterson AFB next to the Colorado Springs Airport) boasts the 21st Space Wing but I figured the SGC was bringing in personnel only after vetting them one at a time (like on a submarine for the navy). Please someone correct me if I'm wrong about the Army bit.  
**Guest #1: **My comment regarding "self-proclaimed gods" was directed towards the Goa'uld. As for Illyria... Her status as a god is debatable in my mind. Back then, she was a multi-dimensional being capable of altering time and communicating with the local greenery. Godlike powers, no doubt. So even if one is willing to accept that Illyria _was_ a god, is she a god _now?_ It's a pretty good question without a firm answer. She now has no followers or worshipers, she has but a fragment of her former strength, and pretty much all the things that made her godlike are gone other than her ego, (I.e. remember her fight with Hamilton?) and she doesn't even have her original form. Any firm answer will depend on what a god truly is, and that's something that humanity has been working on for itself for a long, _long_, time.  
My original comment was directed towards the fact that Illyria has a habit of referring to herself as a God-King. Whether or not she is a god was superfluous to my overall meaning; it was the fact that the SGC was, even at that time, fighting aliens who called themselves Gods. From the SGC's point of view, I don't think its hard to see them drawing the parallels there whether they were accurate or not. And I just wrote way more than I intended to, but it was a comment that had me thinking.  
**Guest #2: **Truthfully, I have no idea. I really wish I could add an additional fandom to it. Since the story started with SG1 and has endured to this point and beyond, I'll probably keep it as part of the SG-1 fandom tag even if the story evolves outside of that. Haven't given it too much thought, honestly.

**Author's Notes: **Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I'm releasing this chapter a little earlier cause I've been writing a whole lot lately and I already have a couple chapters just about ready to pop after this one.

I'm going to be playing hell with SG canon here. Some of this chapter will include dialog that is straight from season 8, but that is mostly to serve as a foundation for when I take it all to crazy town. Also, HowlnMadHowie mentioned before that I hadn't introduced or really spoke of Xander at all. Part of it is because I've never really liked his character while the other part is that I really just forgot all about him. At some point he'll come around.

* * *

#

**October 22nd, 2005**

Samantha Carter was worried. That wasn't exactly a new thing; she'd been worried ever since she'd watched Jack enter that stasis pod. But she was more worried about the looming black hole that had taken the place of Hala's sun. Yeah, the worrying dial had gone straight to 11.

Teal'c's reaction, the bastard, had been a slight widening of the eyes and an urgent, urgent for Teal'c anyway, "we're experiencing the effects of an extremely powerful gravitational force."

With that incredibly unhelpful and obvious conclusion, Teal'c had then revealed that both the hyperspace generator as well as the sublight engines had failed. They had been getting sucked into the black hole, slowly but inevitably, and would continue to do so unless they were able to generate enough power to the engines.

Diverting power from the shields had helped the Tel'tak finally find the power needed to escape the black hole, only for the weakened shields to subsequently fail. Moments later there had been a hole breech.

Sam remembered looking behind her and seeing not the rear hull of the ship, but shattered remnants of the Tel'tak's stern and the maw of the black hole instead. Teal'c had just reached for her hand when there had been a bright flash.

Sam stumbled into Teal'c both quickly righting themselves as they looked at their unfamiliar surroundings.

Their confusion became understanding when they heard a familiar and very welcome voice. "Greetings!"

"Thor," Sam said in a breathy voice, still shaken by her exposure to the vacuum of space.

#

"The Replicators are destroyed then?" Sam asked, torn between disbelief and hope. The full destruction of the Asgard's most dangerous enemy would have consequences on a galactic level.

"To the best of our knowledge, they are indeed destroyed," Thor confirmed. "The time dilation field was only a temporary measure. We knew the time it would take for the replicator-humans to reach the machine would translate to less than two years outside the field. Therefore a more permanent solution was devised."

"So you collapsed the sun?" Sam inferred.

"By artificially increasing its gravitation field, yes," Thor affirmed.

Sam's mind raced with the implications of possessing such technology. She couldn't help the momentary geek-out reaction; it was who she was. "That's...pretty cool."

"The Replicators appeared to have adapted to the field and were preparing to escape the black hole just before your arrival. Their attempt was utilizing an unknown technology however their ships ultimately failed to escape the gravitational pull of the black hole.

"They're strategy was not entirely unsuccessful, however. Aegir of the _Valhalla _reported that a single ship had managed to escape the system and was likely en route to Orilla, the new planet from which we're attempting to rebuild our civilization. Aegir was able to destroy the Replicator ship the moment it exited hyperspace and the ship's fragments don't appear to have been protected against atmospheric reentry.

"It is impossible to say for certain, Major Carter, but yes, we believe the Replicators to be destroyed."

_If there was an Asgard facial expression that indicated triumph_, Sam thought as she looked at the Asgard Supreme Commander, _then it would look like this."_

"It _is_ good to see you again Major Carter, Teal'c. I am sorry I did not reach you sooner, I was not expecting you."

"Your timing is impeccable," Teal'c assured the Asgard.

"We were here hoping to ask for your assistance—," Carter began, but stopped when Thor raised a hand.

"Major Carter, though the Replicators _may_ have been destroyed, they were still able to cause a great deal of damage to my people. We will help you in your fight against the Goa'uld, but much of my people's efforts will be spent on rebuilding our civilization. But know that, even with our efforts to rebuild, the Asgard's assistance to the Tau'ri is likely to be more reliable than it has been in the past."

Sam looked at Teal'c, unsure of how to phrase what they needed.

Teal'c stepped forward. "Thor, your aid will always be welcome to the Tau'ri, however we have come here not on their behalf, but on behalf of Colonel O'Neill."

Thor's hand movements over his ship's console stilled and he seemed to straighten slightly. "What is it that Colonel O'Neill requires?"

"He's...sick. Though, it's not a disease," Sam clarified, "more like a side effect caused by interfacing with Ancient technology."

Thor tilted his head and blinked.

Sam sighed. Sometimes the Asgard's lack of understand of human social niceties could be grating. Sam elaborated for him. "Stargate Command sent several teams, SG-1 among them, to a planet we believed to have held a Repository of Knowledge left by the Ancients. We _were_ able to find the repository but Anubis's men were right behind us. We were forced to destroy the repository to prevent it from falling into his hands, but before it was destroyed, Jack managed to have the whole repository downloaded into his brain."

"The knowledge that gave us our recent victory over Anubis was the knowledge that is slowly killing Colonel O'Neill," Teal'c added.

"After Anubis was destroyed, he put himself into an Ancient stasis pod until we could find a way to fix him. There _has_ to be a way!" Sam insisted.

Thor was silent for a time, occasionally blinking or tilting his head in thought. "There may be a way to save Colonel O'Neill, however I cannot promise success."

"Anything you can do, Thor, would be appreciated," Sam said in a heartfelt tone.

"The Asgard are in debt to Colonel O'Neill and the Tau'ri, Major Carter; this is a chance to repay a small part of it." Thor moved his hand over several crystals and Sam felt the spaceship beneath her begin to stir.

"The last time we had time to converse with one another, I was preoccupied with O'Neill's clone and apprehending Loki. The ongoing conflict with the Replicators meant that I had little time to inquire about the Slayer, Faith Lehane, and whether there were further interactions with her."

Sam frowned. "It's been two years since you...introduced us, Thor, a lot has happened."

Thor seemed pleased. "Then your association is ongoing?"

Sam smiled for the first time that day as she thought of the young brunette that had been inserted into their lives. "Faith is a very interesting character."

"Her loyalty to her friends is as impressive as her ferocity as a warrior," Teal'c agreed.

"I have met and interacted with two Slayers in my lifetime," Thor said, "though only one ever spoke to me, I feel sure that Slayers are fierce in everything they do. Slayers die young and so they seem to live as much as they can in the time they have."

Sam blinked. That was surprisingly insightful for Thor, for most humans even. "You said you've met two Slayers but only one spoke to you; what happened when you met the other Slayer?"

"She believed me to be something I am not. She attempted to fulfill her purpose, Major Carter, and came very close to succeeding."

Teal'c raised a brow at that.

"We have some time before we arrive, I would like to hear more about your time with her."

She didn't know why Thor was so interested in Faith or the Slayers, but she was willing to bet a pretty penny that Faith would be getting a visit from her 'besty' in the near future.

* * *

The God-King listened.

The muck about her irritated her with their mockery and ignorance. They had no true understanding of the world around them, limited by the capabilities of their minds and bodies. Yet here she stood amongst them because she had nowhere else to go after the destruction of the LA branch of the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart and had nothing else to do. The Slayers may have been preferable to the even less impressive muck that infested this world, but that meant little in the scheme of things. Their mockery should have been a killing offense. Indeed, normally she might have ripped their spines from their fragile bodies and danced upon their entrails. Instead, she _listened_.

It was so close she almost grasped it. She lost it again.

She closed her eyes briefly in frustration. She hated this weak existence she clung to. She hated this place, this world that was nothing compared to the worlds she'd visited and the cities she'd built as God-King in the many dimensions she'd inhabited.

She had lost so much when her fool of a Qwa'ha Xahn had coaxed her essence into the shell she now inhabited. This pathetic form of a human did not suit her at all and her weakness grated on her endlessly. She had lost even more when Wesley had stripped most of her powers with the Mutari generator. But sometimes when she was still, when she was quiet and _listened_, she could almost hear...

"Why is she staring at the ficus?"

"Shut up, Rowena!"

"She's been staring at the ficus for _three_ hours!"

"Rowena, Leah, we have a major vamp next in Oban to clear out!"

Angel came around the corner and took in the scene. Two freaked out looking Slayers and an ex-God-King motionless and staring at the local flora.

"Wanna go do some violence, Illyria?" he asked, ignoring the intense glares the junior Slayers sent his way.

Illyria didn't respond.

Great, she was in one of _those _moods.

"Come on girls, I've got some tricks to teach you," Angel said, waggling his eyebrows and tapping the sword at his hip. The girls actually _squealed_ and darted towards him in delight, God-King forgotten. Angel inwardly rolled his eyes. _Slayers._

#

Illyria ignored them all, hoping to hear the Song she'd not heard in so long.

_There!_

She had it, it was...it was...

She lost it.

She hated it here. There were few things that made her existence remotely bearable. The brooding one and the bleached one who had both managed to rise above the cesspool that was their kind were enough to keep her interested to some extent, but there were few such muck that had her respect.

"What's up with the smurf?" another voice called out.

She hated it here.

* * *

**October 22nd, 2005**

"Buffy, I'd like you to meet Major Henry Boyd, Captain Roger Watts, and Lieutenant Jessica McLeod."

"Boyd, minions, this is Buffy Summers." Faith paused. "Watts, if you intend to keep your limbs intact, I would swallow that laugh."

Roger was struggling.

"Henry Boyd stepped forward and extended a hand, "any friend of Faith's is a friend of ours. Pleased to meet you, Buffy, call me Henry."

Roger coughed and received an elbow from McLeod.

The brunette woman of SG-10 smiled at Buffy and waved. "What he said. Call me Jessica, good to meet you."

Roger finally held out his own hand. "Hello..." he coughed and croaked, "Buffy."

Buffy sighed when the man finally failed holding in his laughter. "You get this one free, Roger Watts. But laugh at my name again and I will shove my arm up your ass and work your mouth like a puppet."

Watts paled slightly at her tone and the fierce look in her eyes. "Alright, sorry B...Buffy. It _is_ good to meet you, though." The man paused for a second. "You know, you're pretty scary for your siz-"

Buffy interrupted with a glare. "That applies to comments about my height, too."

Jessica grinned. "You, I like."

Buffy smiled brightly then. "So, where we goin'?"

They were currently parked in the Visitors Center's parking lot at the Garden of the Gods. They had an array of items to carry with them. Among them was a cooler full of "definitely not alcohol, officer" courtesy of Watts. Buffy liked him better when the absence of beer was revealed. Henry's long-suffering wife had sent Henry with some prepared food along with a few packs of hot dogs and buns. Buffy was ready to get a move on.

"We're gonna hump it to the park and set it up at one of the picnic areas. They have some standing grills we can use for the dogs," Henry stated.

"Hump what?" Buffy asked.

The question had been asked someone absently so it took a few seconds for Buffy to realize everyone had stopped to stare at her.

Faith sighed. That shade of red on Buffy's face really was quite appealing. "Alright team, let's go hump."

Boyd gave Buffy a sympathetic smile as the others snickered.

#

It wasn't all that long of a walk, maybe a mile and even that was mostly on a paved road. The dirt paths didn't really start until you were well and truly in the Garden of the Gods park. But even though it wasn't a long walk and it was a cool 65 degrees out, it was still a walk carrying a lot of gear. Charcoal, booze, food, the horseshoe equipment, no it wasn't an easy walk.

But Henry Boyd and his team were military and they'd trained for this sort of thing. Walking about with a lot of heavy gear was business as usual for them. And Faith was...

Faith was whatever she was that allowed her to carry a 45 pound cooler with one hand. 45 lbs wasn't a completely ridiculous weight to carry around, but for her to carry it with one hand and not even break a sweat?

Henry was pretty sure Faith didn't realize she was even doing it while she, Buffy, and Jessica continued their animated discussion. The discussion had started with Jessica talking about some science theory that _no one_ understood but had somehow evolved into them discussing, loudly, their personal favorite bladed weapons. While the discussion itself raised a lot of questions about both Faith and Buffy, questions which Boyd felt certain Jessica was filing away for later, it was the cooler that had his attention.

It hadn't been intentional or some test he'd cooked up, Faith had simply grabbed the wrong cooler when she came back from the bathroom at the Visitor Center. At his side, Roger caught his eye and gave a surreptitious nod towards Faith and tapped the bag he carried. It wasn't just him then. His attention was diverted again when Faith asked Buffy to hold it while she got a drink out.

And Buffy held it. With one hand.

The exchange happened in a few brief seconds and he might've missed the significance of it had he not been watching and thinking about it at that very moment.

Whatever Faith was, Buffy was one too.

* * *

Faith absentmindedly chewed on the potato salad Heather had made. Boyd was a damn lucky man, she reflected, and he knew it. A laugh got her attention and she looked over to see Buffy showing Jessica some of the finer techniques of choking a man out. These techniques were tested on Watts, of course. Faith smiled, yeah Watts would be on her shit list for a while. Faith's smile softened. Then again, she was living proof of how forgiving Buffy could be; Watts would be in the clear soon enough.

"You like her an awful lot don't you, Faith?" Henry asked in a quiet voice.

Faith nearly jumped out of her skin as her thoughts were interrupted.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. It's not often that I manage to do that."

Boyd was a good man, but he wasn't stupid and Faith knew she wasn't exactly the most subtle person. He'd noticed things, enough things that his eyes held questions whenever they met hers. But he didn't ask and Faith liked him better for it. She didn't want to lie to him, but Boyd was a pretty religious guy. She didn't want the responsibility of shattering his preconceptions about the universe. He would suffer from the discovery of her world and she didn't think he was the type who'd recover, so the questions that lingered in his hazel eyes went unanswered.

"Well?" Boyd prompted.

"Yeah, sorry. What was that?" Faith asked coming back to the present.

"The blonde over there who looks like she's preparing to turn Watts into a human pretzel. You care for her. I've never seen that smile on your face before, not even in the morning after a particularly good lay. It's the kind of smile I get when I think about Heather and Lucy."

Faith gave Boyd a level look. "I don't kno-"

"Bullshit," Boyd declared.

"Fuck, Henry, leave it alone. She and I have a lot of history and most of it isn't good. I know what I want, but her? When it comes to Buffy and relationships..." Faith shrugged.

Boyd nodded. Then he put a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, there's something I need to talk to you about for a moment."

Faith shot him a questioning look but followed his lead. Faith caught Buffy's eye and mouthed "BE RIGHT BACK" and received a thumbs up in return.

Faith followed Boyd up a small trail that ended with them on a small rise that overlooked their temporary campsite from perhaps 50 feet away.

"What gives, Boyd?"

"Daniel Jackson approached me at the SGC today and asked me to speak with you." Boyd gave her a meaningful look. "We have visitors at the SGC right now and he said it would be unwise to attract their attention. He asked that you stay away from Cheyenne Mountain until those visitors are gone."

"The visitors...Goa'uld?" Faith asked, smile tight.

"Several System Lords who are attempting to broker a truce with Earth," Boyd confirmed.

"Yeah right," Faith muttered. "Daniel's babysitting the snakes? What about Sam and the Great Haired One?"

Henry smiled. It was hard to tell with Teal'c, but he was pretty sure the man was irritated with Faith's new moniker for him. "Weir gave them authorization to look for outside help for Colonel O'Neill."

"Really?" Faith perked up, "Thor?"

_That_ was interesting. Boyd hadn't been aware that Faith had even known of the Asgard, let alone Thor. At least some of the rumors were true then. "Okay, I'm obligated to ask this, feel free not to answer. Are you the result of experimentation conducted by Loki?" Boyd asked wincing even as he asked.

Both of Faith's eyebrows flew up at that. It had been the closest he'd come to outright asking about her abilities, but that conclusion... "How much and who with?" she asked, mouth curling into a smile.

"Watts, Jake Bosworth, and Jennifer Hailey. One Benjamin," Henry admitted with a guilty look.

"Hailey should've known better," Faith said with a disappointed shake of her head. "I want 25%."

"Deal." Boyd nodded and began the trek back to the others.

"Seriously, an experimental of Loki's?" Faith asked incredulously, "what the fuck?"

Major Henry Boyd laughed.

#

"So extend your leg," Jessica murmured, "aim at the joint on the side of the knee."

"Yeah, but watch your leg or you'll hyperextend it,"Buffy said, maneuvering Jessica's leg into a slightly different position. "Don't telegraph and you don't need to put your whole body behind it. Pull it off correctly and you'll be able to attack or defend yourself immediately after the follow through."

"Yeah, I think I see now. Alright Roger, hold still." Jessica smiled.

"I hate you both, daughters of Satan," Watts said in an unhappy tone.

Buffy gave him a bright smile. "Tell me I'm short again, I dare you."

Roger opened his mouth to respond but a loud laugh caught the group's attention.

Buffy looked over her shoulder to see Faith walking at Henry Boyd's side. It was the latter of the two who was laughing while the brunette at his side shook her head in disgust over something. Buffy let Roger go but not before issuing another warning in a low voice, "One more time, Watts, and my arm and your mouth..."

"I get it, I get it," Rogers exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender.

"So," Jessica said loudly, "we got the grub, we got the booze, it's your game Faith, where are the horseshoes?"

Faith smiled a wicked smile. "Oh girly, don't get your panties in a bunch. You're in for a wild night."

The members of SG-10 collectively paused as they reconsidered their current course of action. The Stargate Command personnel that held the privilege of being Faith Lehane's friend had all gone through what Faith called a "wild night" at some point. There was a danger to life, limb, and dignity to any who participated. Dignity was often the victim when it came to such events.

Buffy, or "the little person" as Roger had unfortunately named her, took a shot glass from Faith and downed it in unison with Faith. Faith gave them that wicked smile again. "Well you gonna make us poor civvies drink alone?"

And so the night began.

#

"I like them," Buffy commented, a very slight slur as the only evidence of the night's activities. "You seem to be doing well here, Faith. With everything, I mean."

Faith herself had been pretty tolerant of the stuff even before she became a Slayer, but she was feeling the buzz too. Faith looked up from what she'd been doing. "I _am_ doing well, B, never been any better in my life."

"Yeah?"

"Yep. It's been hard, don't get me wrong but the stuff they've been teaching me...to be honest I'm feeling a little pride for the first time in a long while," Faith said seriously. "Not just the fun shit like guns and blowing crap up, but the little things like first aid, survival training, and using a map and compass. I've even been learning another language. Never thought I'd be doing crap like that."

Buffy watched the other Slayer as she talked and thanked the Powers or whoever else that Faith had been brought to this place. "Pride looks good on you, F." Buffy swirled the nearly empty bottle of Sailor Jerry around. It really _did_ mix well with cream soda. She peered at Faith, "what are you even doing?"

Faith smiled and continued tapping on the cell phone. "I'm texting Heather to let her know that Boyd is gonna be tied up for a while and that I'll send her pictures."

"Who's Heather? And pictures of what?" Buffy asked, perplexed.

"Heather is his wife and-"

"Wife! I thought you said he's been in a black hole for five years!"

"They were married _before_ he was trapped on the _edge_ of a black hole," Faith corrected.

"Damn, she stayed with him after that whole time?"

"Yeah, with a five year old to take care of on top."

Buffy whistled. Well, sort of, Buffy's ability to whistle had clearly been affected by the alcohol. "Wait, what pictures?"

Faith put the phone down and reached for her pack. She rooted through it for a moment before she answered Buffy's question by way of the objects in her hand.

Buffy smiled and finished the last of her tasty, alcohol, not-beer beverage and uncapped the sharpie Faith had given her. "Not that I'm complaining...but isn't this a little juvenile?"

Faith shrugged.

"Fair enough," Buffy said, "this has been fun, Faith, but don't think I've forgotten about you taking me shopping."

"Wouldn't think of it, B," Faith assured her and began her artistic masterpiece using the canvas of Lieutenant Jessica McLeod's face.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** So the little back and forth timing from the last chapter has matched up as of this chapter. Yes, the chapter title was inspired by the content as well as the song by Muse. The arm and mouth quote was from The Other Guys. This chapter is mostly catch-up, getting the SGC people to their starting positions and all. Things start picking up pretty quick from here.

The Garden of the Gods is a really cool place, I actually lived about 5 minutes from it. The sandstone formations are pretty legit, and I thought it'd be a nice place to play horseshoes. *shrug*


	5. Out with the Old, In with the New

**— Thor's Slayers ****—**

**Chapter Five**

_**Out with the Old, In with the New**_

* * *

**HowlinMadHowie: **It has not been explicitly stated who knows about Faith and the supernatural world from the military side of things. In the few first chapters of this story, it was stated that at least _some_ people in the military or at the pentagon _were_ aware. But a more definitive answer has not been given. Obviously, all of SG-1 knows along with General Hammond given that they were there for her debut. Other then that, again, that is currently unknown. It would be safe bet, however, to suggest that Faith would want to keep it as quiet as possible. I have tried to make SG-10 look important in Faith's new life, and I want to continue that, but even they don't know exactly what makes Faith tick. Everyone who was in that room when Faith appeared knows that there are _many_ Slayers out there, remember that was part of the reason Thor brought Faith to the SGC in the first place.  
I stated at the very beginning of that chapter in my author's notes that I'd be playing hell with SG canon. I was trying to decide what to do with the Replicators, Sam, and the Fifth and ultimately just decided to can it. That whole Replicators aspect of Jack's recovery would do nothing for this story and I wanted to move it along. The Replicators were eventually destroyed, I just made it happen faster. In the chapter I stated that a ship had managed to escape but was destroyed by Aegir, it can be assumed that the Fifth was on that ship. I don't particularly care for the idea of Replicators in the story. There's just not a whole for the BtVS crowd to work with there.  
**Syphon01: **Actually, the Tel'tak bit was completely based on Stargate's canon, I didn't alter that part of the story one bit. Blame the SGC writers! As for Henry Boyd's story, there was never any explanation given. In the book, there was a real quick reunion scene that was observed by O'Neill, but nothing more. So...*shrug*

**Author's Notes: **Alright fellas, there will be slight variations between scenes in my story taken from the TV episodes. This could be due to my own error or because of alterations made to suit my story. Just something to keep in mind. **Note: If you see any continuity errors within my story, such as which characters were aware of what, _please_ tell me so I can adjust my story accordingly!**

I think my chapter releases will be at the current pace of once every few days rather than weeks. At this point, I have enough time at work where I'm effectively free that I'm able to put down a lot of words on paper to transcribe onto the computer later. I mean, right now I'm releasing chapter five but I'm putting the finishing touches on chapter _eight_. So yeah, frequent updates yay!

This chapter is going to be heavier on the Stargate side of things, pretty much the entire first half of the story. The second half will be more Buffy and Faith. I know that we've had a _lot _of Faith and Buffy, but even the BtVS aspect will be pretty involved with the Stargate side of things. Again, this chapter is laying down more foundation for the future as well as developing Fuffy.

On the note of Fuffy. There is a line of conversation in this chapter that I agonized over whether I should include or not. It's a pretty explicit reference and doesn't really do much for the story but it just seems so...Faith. I decided to run with it. Also, I'm a guy.

I'll say it now and I'll say it again later. I'm trying, really, really hard to keep it fun and maybe occasionally sappy. This is _not_ going to be a love story. I've repeated this several times, I know, but I'm saying it again because the last bit of this chapter will be heavy on the sappy side of things.

As always, I encourage you to review the story and submit your ideas. I try my best to make this a fun story to read but sometimes I can go off track. Having people tell me what they like/don't like or suggest ideas or improvements is a really simple way for me to improve the story quality

* * *

#

**October 22nd, 2005**

"Those stupid, arrogant, egotistical..." Elizabeth Weir almost screamed in frustration. The negotiations had been tedious and slow. More annoying was the revelation that they had been a complete sham, a facade generated in order to observe the capabilities of the human weapon which had destroyed Anubis and his armada. She should have known, she really should have. She braced both hands on the desk, taking slow breaths while she studied the smooth brown wood of the desk.

She had honestly believed that they had been getting somewhere, honestly believed that her skills would truly accomplish something with their System Lord visitors. But they hadn't. She hadn't gone in blind, hadn't expected the best out of them, but their duplicity was still hard to swallow.

"Tough breaks on the snakes, kid."

The voice startled Weir enough that she flinched and stepped back in a hurry, looking for the source of that voice that should not, could not be here. She hadn't been so lost in her thoughts that she wouldn't have heard the door to the office open and close. Looking around, she almost missed the man leaning against one of the walls of the office not five feet from her. He wore a brown suit suit over a gold and black patterned collared shirt. The ensemble was completed by a brown fedora resting on his head. He was a pale man, average height and weight, with short dark hair. But the most remarkable thing about the man was that he was in her office at all.

She darted forward and took the phone from its cradle, ready to call base security to report a possible breach. Her heart pounded in her chest even as he stepped back with his hands raised. Before she pressed any buttons, she managed to calm herself down slightly and met his eyes, giving him a long steady look. "Who are you?" she asked coldly.

The man stood up slightly, straightened his suit, and tipped his fedora towards her. "You can call me Whistler."

* * *

Sam watched as both Daniel and the stasis pod that held Jack were beamed aboard Thor's ship that now orbited Earth. It wasn't long ago that Sam would be hard-pressed to tear herself away from the sight of the cradle of humanity. Now she couldn't tear her eyes away from the Ancient pod.

_Please work, _she thought desperately.

"Hey guys!" Daniel said brightly. "Don't worry, I wasn't in the middle of anything important like telling several System Lords off. So, whats up?" Daniel Jackson with a nod towards Jack's dormant form.

"Thor believes there might be a way to save Jack. Oh, and it looks like the Asgard were able to destroy the Replicators," Sam said, unable to stop smiling now that Jack was here and the news of the Replicator's demise had truly sank in.

Daniel looked stunned. "Really? How?"

Thor waved a hand over his console which produced an image of Hala. Or what was once Hala. In its stead was the immense black hole which had both doomed the planet and possibly saved the Asgard.

Teal'c added his hello to Daniel. "The Asgard collapsed Hala's sun to destroy the Replicators trapped there."

"That's...pretty cool," the archaeologist stated.

"I know right?" Sam agreed.

Teal'c remained stoic, though he followed Sam until all three members of SG-1 stood over their incapacitated leader.

"Can you help him?" Daniel asked Thor quietly.

"I do not know Daniel Jackson, but I will attempt to do so," Thor answered. "I will attempt to interface my ship with Colonel O'Neill's mind. This will hopefully allow both communication as well as a way to fully evaluate and cure his condition. One moment."

#

"He is not well," Thor observed.

"I told you," Daniel replied.

"The process of interfacing his mind is complex."

_"Hello...testing...testing...1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, testing..hello! Is this thing on?"_

"Jack?" Daniel asked.

"O'Neill, can you hear us?" Thor asked on the heel of Daniel's own question.

_"Hey! Hey guys. What's going on?"_

Sam closed her eyes at the sound of Jack's voice. "Hey Jack," she whispered.

"Your mind has been interfaced with the_ Daniel Jackson_." Thor answered.

_"What?" _Jack asked?

"What?" Daniel parroted.

Sam smiled but it was Teal'c who replied. "The name of Thor's ship is _Daniel Jackson."_

"All the information in the ship's computer is available to you," Thor announced.

_"Ah, right. Here we go. This is cool. I can do pretty much anything I want, can't I?"_

Sam rolled her eyes as the lights on the ship began flicking on and off until Thor finally caught O'Neill's attention.

"If you wish you may appear to us as a holog-" Thor began but cut off as a hologram of Jack appeared.

_"Hey."_

"You okay?"

_"Its a little weird, but yeah...okay," _Jack said.

"At least you're not speaking Ancient," Daniel observed

_"There's __that," _Jack agreed.

"Actually, the computer is translating."

There was a collective wince.

Thor spent some time looking over the data he was receiving, occasionally asking questions to either Jack or the others.

Several hour later, Sam watched a crimson light play along Jack's skin within the pod. Sam held her breath while Daniel and Teal'c remained tense, watching to see if Jack would recover.

It wasn't long before Jack showed signs of waking before he gradually sat up, rubbing his head with a pained expression.

"Jack?" Sam asked.

Jack looked up. "Hey Sam." Looking to the side at the former Jaffa, Jack gave him a questioning look, "Teal'c, what's with the hair?"

Teal'c grimaced.

Sam had to hide a smile. She couldn't wait until Jack and Faith got in the same room to discuss Teal'c's new "do."

"O'Neill?" Thor prompted.

"Thor? You got aspirin?"

"You should feel better momentarily, and your memory will slowly return," Thor assured him.

Jack nodded and paused. "Teal'c, what's with the hair?"

Teal'c grimace became a look of pain or annoyance, it was hard to tell which.

"I am glad that you are recovering Colonel O'Neill," Thor said.

"Thanks buddy," Jack said before he winced and began massaging his temples.

"Any pain or discomfort should be alleviated soon. I will transport you to the surface once you are better," Thor said before he walked to the command console.

Sam smiled and put a hand on Jack's shoulder, getting his attention. "Sure glad to see you, sir."

"Yeah, likewise," Jack said, looking at her and then the others.

* * *

**October 24th, 2005**

There was a knock.

Elizabeth Weir looked up to see Colonel O'Neill standing at the open door to the office. "Colonel, come in. How are you feeling?"

"Not bad, haven't had the urge to go anywhere or build anything lately."

Elizabeth went back to packing her belongings while making small talk with the Colonel.

"You going somewhere?" the man asked, finally remarking on the state of her office.

"As a matter of fact, the President has asked me to supervise the research at the Ancient outpost. It's gonna be a bit of a delicate situation given all the various international claims already being made on the site."

"Sounds right up your alley," Jack said with a tone so dry that it could've caught fire.

"Yeah, well, much more so than this job," Weir said with a self-deprecating smile.

They spoke some more about the future, about Hammond, and about Homeworld Security. When Colonel O'Neill asked the question she'd been looking forward to answering for him, she gave him her full attention.

"Any idea who we're gonna be stuck with?"

"The Pentagon has convinced the President that there is one man who could run the SGC and make it politically viable from an international perspective despite the fact that he is part of the American military establishment," Weir informed the man now seated in front of her.

"Do we know this...shrub?" Jack asked, obviously unconvinced.

Weir put her hands on the desk and leaned down, facing him. She gave him a coy smile, "well you know him rather well..._Brigadier General_ Jack O'Neill."

Not long after he left her office, she stopped packing once more and sat down heavily into her chair. She thought about the Stargate program, about Antarctica, about Atlantis. She thought about the international political free-for-all she was preparing to enter that might change or destroy her career. And most of all, she thought about the things the man named Whistler had told her and about three young women that she'd likely be meeting soon who might be able to help her.

He had told her things about her own life that no one else should have known, things that even she had forgotten about herself. He had told her some of the things that Earth might face in the future. He had told her about Atlantis. Then he had told her of other things, things she wasn't entirely able to reconcile with just yet.

It would all come together soon, he had said, and she didn't need to do anything but accept it when the time came. She still didn't know who or what he was, but she did know that the other things he had told her, should they be true, held the possibility of changing everything she thought she knew about the world, about humanity, even about good and evil itself.

_"This world is older than any of you know..."_

* * *

"So, shopping?"

Sitting on top of a kitchen counter, Faith looked up from her cereal to see Buffy, fully dressed and almost bouncing with energy. Waking up wrapped around Buffy had been a surprisingly non-awkward affair, something Faith was immensely grateful for. But that gratitude was swiftly vanishing in the face of Buffy's bright smile and excitement.

_Ugh, morning people._

"B, I'm not even dressed yet. We'll go shopping, but can't it wait a little longer?"

Buffy pouted. "Come on, Faith, I don't know any of the stores here and I need some boots. The cowboy kind that the Brachen bouncer at Lorne's had."

Faith rolled her eyes. She was about to respond when there was a blinding flash and familiar sense of disorientation.

A second later and her ass hit the uncomfortably cold and metallic floor followed shortly by the spoon laden with milk and fruit loops. Luckily for her, the food didn't land on _her_, less fortunate for the ship belonging to the Asgard staring at her from several feet away. Then again, he was an uber-advanced species; he could figure out how to use a paper towel or a mop

"Slayer, it is good to see you."

"Thor, man, you gotta give a girl some warning before you do that," Faith said, rubbing the newly abused part of her body.

"My apologies," Thor said with a nod.

Faith noticed that he didn't actually say that a warning would be given in the future, but hey, she was in a spaceship. Which _was_ a first.

"Wow," she said, softly. Reality hit her and she was suddenly struck speechless. She'd been preparing for this sort of opportunity for the last two years but for it to be suddenly thrust upon her left her dazed. Faith looked into the dark reaches of space filled with the tiny lights of far away stars and even further away galaxies then looked down at the blue and green marble that she called home.

It was the kind of perspective that changed your world, Faith realized. She'd endured so much pain in her childhood and youth, spent so much time killing vampires, slaying demons, fighting the forces of Evil, that she had lost the idea of what she was fighting _for. _But staring down at Earth, she understood so much more now. It was breathtaking. It was terrifying. Faith just now realized Thor had been speaking to her and turned to him. "I'm sorry, I was..."

"I understand, Slayer."

Being called 'Slayer' suddenly reminded her of something important. "Shit, Buffy!"

#

Buffy blinked, trying to clear her vision in the aftermath of that blinding light. It didn't take more than a few heartbeats for her to realize that the kitchen now held one less occupant than before. Her eyes narrowed in annoyance. This was_ not_ how this morning was supposed to go and it wasn't even Tuesday! She dug her phone out of her pocket then paused.

Who was she supposed to call? Her initial, and current, inclination was to call Wills and get her to magic Faith out of there and go Darth Willow on her kidnappers' asses. She had also paused because it wasn't just magic users who might have the capability of 'beaming' someone out of their own house and Faith was demonstrably known to that part of the world. The part of the world that was _out _of this world.

Buffy snickered. _I've got to remember that one_.

She shook her head sharply. Word play, later. Finding Faith, now. She dialed the number, slightly fumbling with the accursed machine.

She stopped.

Paled.

Trembled.

"I've become Giles," she gasped in horrible realization, but still managed to dial the number.

"Buffy! Hey! Dawn told me you're in Colorado hanging out with Faith, which is cool. She also told me about Spike and your fight, which is a little less cool. Are you okay? Do you want Kennedy to go all 'grr' on anyone? I've never been there but I heard Colorado is a pretty cool place so unless Faith goes evil again, she should be able to show you a good time."

Buffy opened her mouth, trying to halt the Willow babble in the ensuing silence but Willow started up again with a squeak. "Not like a _sexual_ kind of 'show you a good time', I mean. Like a movie or a walk or shopping sort of good time. Or get Faith to introduce you to some of her pals like Major Carter. You know, the woman I got to be friendly with when I was helping her with the whole 'boss needs a brain defrag' thing? Well, she was saying that Faith and she had become really good friends, so you should really get Faith to introduce you. Shouldn't be hard, like I said they got pretty close, like an actual 'show you a good time' of close. Major Carter even let slip that Faith was pretty studly with a strap-on...I shouldn't have said that, shit, someone stop me—mmph."

Buffy's eyes were wide and her mouth was hanging open. She could hear Kennedy's hysterical laughter in the background but her mind had decided to go on vacation without inviting the rest of her.

"Buffy? Willow's taking a second to breathe again. Sorry about the TMI. What's up?" Kennedy's voice redirected her attention from the lewd images she had conjured to the emergency that had prompted her call.

"Faith disappeared."

"What?"Willow's voice asked in the background.

"She was eating breakfast right in front of me and she went 'poof'." Earlier conversation and revelations forgotten, Buffy's tone became urgent.

"Went 'poof' how?" Willow asked, now clearly the one holding the phone again.

"I don't know! Why do you think I'm calling you!?"

"Oh, right. Um...did you see anything?"

"Yeah, there was a bright—"

"Buffy?"

"Buffy, are you there? Buffy?!"

Willow's increasingly worried queries went unanswered as the same bright flash that had left only one Slayer in the apartment now left none.

#

"—flash!" Buffy stopped, instantly aware that something had fundamentally changed. She put the phone that now displayed "No Service Available" in large bold letters into her pocket.

"Hey B."

Faith's voice had her full attention and she followed the source of the voice until Buffy saw the dark haired woman. She was still wearing the white wifebeater and dark navy boyshorts that she'd gone to bed with. She could have said "Faith, oh my god are you okay?!" or "I'm so glad you're okay!" or even a "Hey Faith" but she didn't. No, instead Buffy's first words in space, first words in an alien spaceship, first words spoken in front of an alien were: "Faith! You had sex with Major Carter!? With a strap-on?!" To make matters worse, her words were delivered in a manner language experts would define as a 'squeak'.

Faith's eyes had gone huge and her face went red. That was odd in itself, as Faith was a very difficult person to embarrass, especially about anything related to sex. The brunette began coughing and Buffy couldn't decide if they girl was mortified or amused.

"I was not aware that Major Carter was attracted to other females."

Buffy closed her eyes. _No, no, no, nononono._ Faith was still coughing...no, it was starting to sound more like laughter. Less mortified than amused then. _Bitch. _She turned, dreading what she already knew was awaiting her.

He was exactly as Faith had described. Short. Grey. Big black eyes. Nude. _Check, check, check, and ohmygod check._

"Greetings Buffy Summers. I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet," the short grey being said.

Buffy gave him a weak wave. "Hi." She floundered, not knowing what to say after the dazzling first impression she had surely made. Luckily, Faith saved her. Sort of.

"She's not," Faith said with a final cough, "not gay I mean. Sam has a torch...ah I mean she's always been attracted to Colonel O'Neill. She wasn't doing too well when Jack got shoved into stasis and I...helped her out. Teal'c isn't exactly the comforting type and Daniel? Jack would knock him on his ass when he found out."

Thor tilted his head.

_Ah,_ Faith thought fondly, _I've missed my besty A man of few words indeed._ "Sam and I both knew each other, knew enough that secrets weren't an issue. She didn't have to worry about working with me on a daily or even regular basis. We were both comfortable being friends before, during, and after we..." Faith coughed again and shot a pointed look towards Buffy, "became intimate. It was only for a month or two. But she's not gay, maybe just a tiny smidge bi, but it was mostly because I was there and we were both lonely."

"Fascinating," Thor said in a voice that held far too much gravitas for the subject matter. "Human sexual dynamics are surprisingly complex, something I might wish to discuss at a later point."

"Anytime," Faith said nonchalantly with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"But that is not why I brought you, either of you, here," Thor told Faith.

Buffy, looking anywhere but at Faith and Thor, asked the question first. "So, why did you bring us here?"

"The first subject I wished to notify you about is in fact relevant to our discussion regarding Faith Lehane's sexual liaison with Major Carter. I was contacted by both Major Carter and Teal'c who notified me about O'Neill's status and asked for my assistance. I was able to successfully restore Colonel O'Neill and he is now on the surface, recovering."

"Jack is back? Wicked!"

"There is one more item I wished to discuss with you, something of great importance. As you know, the Nox have been monitoring the Slayer's status on this world for millennia. That function is joined by others such as providing aid to the guardian in monitoring the Deeper Well."

An Illyria sized headache blossomed in Buffy's head.

"They notified us that there had been a breach and there had been signs that an Old One had escaped, however after a short time those signs disappeared. They have heard nothing more to indicate there is still a danger but they remain...vocal in their concerns. Are you aware of any event that might have transpired to raise such an alarm?"

Thor's question hung in the air for a moment before Buffy reluctantly nodded. Not answering the question, evading, or lying outright seemed like bad thing to do when the only escape you had was into vacuum. Besides, the Nox or whatever were apparently trying to do them a favor.

"An idiot human managed to smuggle an Old One out of the Deeper Well. That Old One's essence was placed into a girl, a friend of ours in fact. She died in the transition and now Illyria walks in her body. Most of her powers are gone and she fights for the good guys...sort of."

Thor had gone very, very still and studied her for long moments. "Illyria was an extremely powerful being, Buffy Summers. She was responsible for the deaths of many Nox, Asgard, Furlings, and especially your Ancients. You do not believe her to be a threat any longer?"

That really didn't mean a whole lot to Buffy but from the way Faith had paled, the brunette was freaked. "She's a threat, of course she's a threat, but with most of her power gone...there are bigger ones, bigger threats out there I mean. It was also implied that Illyria would likely be leaving this planet soon."

"Implied? By whom?" Thor asked with a blink of his eyes.

_God, Faith was right, those eyes are freaky!_ Buffy blinked. "Lorne. He's a demon who runs a karaoke bar on Earth. He has the ability to see the past and possible futures of a person who sings to him. When Faith sang to him, he said that Faith and Illyria would be going far away and for a long time." _And I might be going with them._

"I...see," Thor said and was silent for a while. "I will need to consider this and discuss it with the others. Would it be possible for you to arrange a meeting between Illyria and I?"

Faith exchanged a long worried look with Buffy. "Yeah, I'll see what she says. Um...how do I call you?"

"Inform Colonel O'Neill and he will deliver the message," Thor answered.

Buffy stepped back, letting the other two speak and taking the time to observe Faith and her interactions with this alien, with Thor. Faith was so comfortable, so willing to be who she was. Some of it was a front, she knew that now, but many of the insecurities she'd tried to cover up in the past were gone. Whatever insecurities Faith _still _had, her confidence and growing feeling of self-worth had made them manageable rather than hidden and festering from within. Buffy envied Faith that lack of doubt, she always had whether it had been genuine or a facade. In Sunnydale, it was an envy based on ignorance, pettiness, and insecurity. But it wasn't just Faith who'd done a lot of maturing, they all had. Her envy was still there, but it was less about Faith and more about how she wished she could own who she was.

Buffy let out a quiet sigh and let her eyes focus on her surroundings for the first time. She noticed Faith still speaking quietly with Thor, the latter of whom really _did_ kind of look like a Muppet. Faith shot her a questioning eyebrow at her to which Buffy just shook her head. She continued her perusal, idly noting that for a spaceship, it didn't really feel all that spaceship-y.

Buffy looked to the front of the ship. The port? Starboard? Whichever it was, she went there, walking across the smooth metallic floor to catch her first up-close look into space.

There was a darkness, a looming blackness that seemed like it should have enshrouded everything. But it hadn't, for the darkness was held at bay by the twinkling lights of stars and by the planet below that she'd been born on, grew up on, and died on. Seeing that planet, _her_ planet, from this vantage, she suddenly felt like her place in the universe had shifted, though she wasn't sure if that change was something she could define yet.

Buffy frowned, feeling moisture on her cheeks. Raising a hand to her face, she discovered that she was crying. She was crying, she realized, not because she was sad or heartbroken or even because she was happy or relieved.

She cried slow silent tears because in that moment...her sudden understanding made her feel as close to Heaven as she'd ever felt since being ripped from within its gates. She cried because she now knew what she wanted. Buffy had weighed the possibility of leaving everyone and everything on that world behind, that world which only now seemed so beautiful. She cried because seeing what she saw now made the choice easy.

Buffy didn't jump when she felt Faith behind her, having heard her approach. The brunette's steps were slow, almost tentative, which just seemed so _wrong_ for Faith, she thought somewhat numbly. She closed her eyes when arms...strong arms...Slayer arms...wrapped around her.

"B?"

She thought of those stars that held off that darkness and considered her own life. Before the Master had killed her, she'd been alone. One Slayer to protect the entire world against all the nasties the universe had in store for humanity. She'd fulfilled her destiny and had died for that world...but Xander had brought her back. Soon enough there had been Kendra...then Faith...and now hundreds if not thousands of Slayers across the entire world all of whom were casting their own lights to keep the blackness at bay. The world which had seemed so dark had never been so bright as it was now.

"B? You alright?"

Buffy looked into space, at the stars, at Earth, and into herself. Oddly enough, it was a memory of Andrew that helped her focus her thoughts. She remembered sitting with him in Scotland when the Scoobies had first moved there, watching one of his sci-fi shows. She remembered a scene where a human was confronted by two aliens, each of whom asked a question: _Who are you?_ and _What do you want?_ She hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but she suddenly understood the depth of those questions. She couldn't truthfully say she knew who she was or what she wanted, but maybe she had a better idea now than she had before.

Buffy didn't answer Faith's softly spoken question. Instead, she turned in Faith's arms so that she faced the other Slayer. Faith's eyebrows drew up in concern, no doubt seeing her tears. When Faith made as if to release her, Buffy leaned up and kissed Faith lightly on the lips. It wasn't sensual or even romantic, but it felt all the more important because of that. Buffy ended the kiss, watching the rapid changes in Faith's expression. But she didn't see anymore soon after that because she buried her face into Faith's shoulder and cried.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **At this point the story will definitely be heading in a more distinct direction. Given previous hints and statements (of mine or the story's), you can be sure that Stargate Atlantis will be heavily involved. Starting a crossover from day 1 onto a new show with the characters already (more or less) pre-established in each other's universe offers a lot of freedom in how I move forward. There was a Babylon 5 reference for those of you who were a fan of the best sci-fi show of the 90s.

I generally hate it when a character (crossover or not) is inserted into a scene that they are not supposed to be in. (I.e. Sam's presence at Jack's 'resurrection' moment). It always feels cheesy and I don't think I've ever truly seen that kind of story device work seamlessly with the rest of that scene. I tried the best I could to keep her presence minimal but still acknowledged.

I am still unsure of whether Whistler's hat was a fedora or a bowler cap. I could find nothing conclusive online and even watching his very few scenes left me unsure. I decided to call it a fedora because, face it, fedoras are cool. I didn't really want a full length Whistler scene but I love the idea of throwing him in now and then for some behind the scenes wetwork. Making his discussion with Weir mysterious, at least partly so, gives me leeway about what to write in the future but also gives you a chance to stretch that old imagination of yours.

The timeline of all this is tricky like I said when I first began part II. Two years for the story but only one for Stargate means things are stretching out. Jack would have entered the pod about a year ago if I wanted to make that timeline accurate and that sounded just fine to me. Illyria would have been on the scene several months earlier than that.

The Fuffy: Okay, so, obviously moving forward on this front. This is probably one of, if not the sappiest scenes I'll be writing. I wanted the scene to end with Buffy coming to grips with the fact that she was unhappy and that she was ready to accept that she _wanted_ to be happy, ergo going with Faith. The story should be a steady ramp up into the next major plot development within the next two chapters.  
The Sam relationship was something I'd been thinking of ever since I wrote this story, back when I was trying to decide _if_ I was going to add a relationship and with who. When it came down to it, I like Sam's character and I just can't see Faith with any of the others, except for Daniel and I feel like that would be Xander all over again (in the way Daniel and Xander are so...innocent? compared to the others, maybe?). The strap-on bit was just for shock value and was the line I referenced to in the top author's notes; to reiterate there won't be anything resembling smut in the story (aka The Mom Rule as defined previously).  
As for timing...let's say Faith and Sam fall into bed three months after Jack goes nighty-night, enjoy each other's company for two months, and that still leaves seven months for Sam to get O'Neill back and settle whatever it is that needs to be settled with Faith. Honestly, please don't make a big deal about that big. Let's be serious here, this is Faith, do you really think she's going to remain celibate for two years? And given that her feelings for Buffy aren't, to her knowledge, reciprocated then it shouldn't be a shock for her to seek companionship elsewhere. This past relationship of Faith's is going to stay in the past, and while there may be a reference or two, there is not going to be a drama-llama originating from this.

There was a story inconsistency that I just caught. Way back in the beginning of this story I made a reference to Homeworld Security, capitol letters and all. That has only just come about in SG canon so...yeah, consider it acknowledged and the chapter was edited accordingly.


	6. Meet and Greet

**— Thor's Slayers ****—**

**Chapter Six**

_**Meet and Greet**_

* * *

**HowlnMadHowie: **As always, your review and commentary is appreciated. You've been great with your questions and/or suggestions so truly, thank you. To your comments: I haven't really said much about the ATA gene/Ancients/Slayer connection or if there _is _one and how it all reconciles with BtVS canon and still allowing for the Nox to be...sensitive to their status. That should be discussed as the story progresses in a later chapter.  
Whistler and Weir: Only a little bit ago, Daniel was telling Boyd that he should avoid telling Weir if possible, not necessarily because of _her_ but because of all the people she's involved with or who she reports to. Going to Atlantis would isolate her from those problems, and Whistler would be presumably smoothing things over for the inevitable future "wtf she's not human?" moment. I tried to imply that Whistler did not say exactly what Buffy/Faith/Illyria are, just that they can help. As for the PtB and their reach into Pegasus. *shrug* Presumably, no, their reach doesn't extend that far. Then again, I don't think destiny is constrained by distance and light years. I'd see this as more of a "let's send them off and see if they do some good" rather than some would also tie in Illyria, who the PtB would _definitely_ not want hanging around on Earth.

**Author's Notes:** This chapter will be very Stargate heavy. I know everyone's been waiting for the good stuff to happen, so here you go. There will a brief bit of Fluffy at the beginning, but that's it.

As far as I know, Whistler was never able to just appear somewhere like he was teleported in. My thinking: he's the offspring of a pure-blood demon and a direct agent of the Powers that Be who also works for the PtBs. If he doesn't have the ability, then he definitely has the backers.

* * *

#

Faith watched Buffy, trying to figure out what to say, or how to say it. Thor had just beamed them back down to the apartment with the promise to contact him about Illyria reaffirmed. More important than Old Ones and Asgard was the kiss Buffy had given her onboard the _Daniel Jackson_. Oh, and she could not _wait_ to badger Daniel or Jack about _that._

Buffy was now sitting in one of her chairs in the living room, the black leather seeming to have molded around her small form, while Faith gazed at her over the wet bar. Yeah, that chair had been a good find.

"B?"

"Yeah, Faith?"

"What just happened?"

"I'd say Scotty just beamed us up, went all Roswell on us, and beamed us back down."

"That's not what I mean, Buffy," Faith said, sounding aggravated. "Why did you kiss me?"

Buffy was quiet for a while but had turned her head to look at Faith. "Remember how I didn't want to talk about what Lorne had said at Caritas? Well...I'm ready."

Faith, feeling unsure of herself, went into the living room to sit on the side of the couch closest to Buffy. She looked expectantly at Buffy.

Buffy took a deep breath. "He said that I could be content here. That I might find some satisfaction in St. Louis or Cleveland or Scotland, whatever. Might find a fun job or an interesting man. Might even have the whole white picket fence thing, you know?"

Faith nodded with a neutral expression.

"But I wouldn't be happy," Buffy continued, clenching a fist to hide the trembling of her hand. "Lorne said that the only way I would trulybe _happy_ was if I went with you." She paused and rolled her eyes, "and Illyria."

Faith leaned back, unsure of exactly how she should respond, trying to process what Buffy had just told her. "So what was the kiss about? Please tell me you didn't kiss me because Lorne said only I would make you happy."

Buffy shrugged. "You and me, Faith, there's always been, I don't know, something. And I'm not an idiot, I know that you've always...liked me."

Faith wanted to deny it, but it would have been a lie and now didn't seem the time for lies, so she merely nodded.

"What Lorne said might have jump started it all, but don't think it's something I've never considered. I mean, seriously. Willow, Tara, Kennedy, yeah...thoughts happened."

Faith smirked a bit at that and raised a brow. "So what now, B?"

"We take 'us' slow and you better get me up to speed on space-y things. And you better figure out how to get Illyria to meet up with Thor," Buffy responded, grimacing at the last task.

Faith gave a slow nod and stood up, "Yeah, I think I know who to call. Illyria probably won't take a summons over the phone all that well, you know how she is about groveling and all that." Faith made as if to leave the room but paused and went back to stand in front of Buffy. Buffy opened her mouth to say something, but Faith leaned down and interrupted it with a kiss of her own.

Unlike Buffy's kiss, this one was definitely a little sensual and romantic, one that lingered for what felt like hours. Faith grinned at Buffy's slightly dazed look when she slowly straightened herself.

"We were supposed to take it slow," Buffy said in a breathy voice, though it didn't sound like she was really complaining all that much.

"Well B, I imagine you'll find that I'm real good at fast _and_ slow."

Faith walked out of the room without another word, leaving a blushing, smiling Buffy behind.

* * *

"Hello?"

"Yo MPD, I need your help."

Major Paul Davis looked at his office phone as if it had suddenly turned into a serpent. A poisonous one. With fangs. "With what?" he asked warily, having known Faith Lehane for long enough and well enough to understand that some of her 'requests' could lead nowhere good far too quickly.

"I'm on a mission from God."

There was a silence.

"From Thor."

More silence with a slightly less hostile undercurrent.

"'Cause Thor's the Norse lightning g—"

"Yes, Faith, I get it," Paul snapped. He got up from his desk and shut the door to his office and prepared himself for whatever Faith and Thor might have in store for him. "You do realize that I'm a Major in the United States military working for the Pentagon, right? Not your personal gofer!"

"I know, but Thor suggested—"

"Liar."

"Fair enough. But seriously Paul, we really do have something to accomplish and I don't know anyone who is likely to deal with it as well as you." Faith's voice was sincere, which made the situation even less comforting given the subject matter.

"Tell me what you want and I'll _consider _it."

"I need you to deliver a message to a God."

"I'm hanging up, Faith."

"I'm serious. She prefers the title "God-King" however, and she requires a bit of a...delicate touch and a _great_ deal of patience," Faith said in a rush of words.

"Well that rules _you_ out," Paul said sourly. His eyes narrowed when he heard a laugh in the background. "Who's that?"

"Ah, that's Buffy. Interesting fact, she is the fourth Slayer that Thor has personally encountered."

Paul let his head fall into his hand and allowed himself to be baited. "Fourth?"

"Yep, apparently way back in the day one of the Slayers thought he was a demon and...you know, tried to make like a Slayer. Thor said she came close, too."

_What am I even supposed to say to something like that?_ Paul rubbed his forehead. "What do you want, Faith?"

"I told you Paul, I need you to deliver a message from Thor and myself. Thor was kind enough to write the...letter, I think that's what it is anyway, seeing as I don't know how to write Sanskrit from gazillions of years ago, but the letter needs delivering. You're the kind of person who can do this without causing mortal offense." Faith paused for a moment before continuing. "If it makes you feel any better, _not_ delivering this message might result in the Asgard, Nox, and possibly the Furlings staging an...intervention."

"That does _not _make me feel any better, Faith." Paul sighed. "Faith..."

"Major Davis."

Paul sighed again and straightened; Faith only ever called him that when she was being serious and professional. "What do you have for me?"

"Her name is Illyria," Faith said immediately, "known as Illyria the Merciless, God-King of the Primordium."

"You're joking."

"Not joking, Paul. She isn't what she used to be, but she is still a power on this world. Remember our talk about the Deeper Well?"

Paul's stomach plummeted. "Don't tell me..."

"Illyria is an Old One. She predates human civilization and could give the Goa'uld lessons on ego and arrogance. She _was_ capable of altering the flow of time, teleporting, interdimensional travel, and a whole bag of other fun tricks."

"_Was_?"

"Was," Faith confirmed. "Her escape from the Deeper Well wasn't actually done under her own initiative or direction. It was apparently preordained, and a human who knew of her, worshiped her, decided to do something really fucking stupid. He thought the girl he admired so much, loved even, would be the best possible candidate to house his God. So he made it happen. The girl died and Illyria is now stuck in her form, mostly. She lost most of her power soon after, but like I said, she's still a powerhouse."

"You've known about her then, and didn't tell us?" Davis asked incredulously.

"Look, by the time _I _knew, she was already settled down. Sort of. She fights with us, us as in the Watcher's Council, though I think its mostly out of of boredom and an appreciation for a good rumble."

"You are not making me feel any better here, Faith." After a moment of silence, the military officer capitulated. "How do I get this message, where do I deliver it, and who do I deliver it to? I mean what does that...host's body look like?"

"The transition that allowed Illyria to take over the body had the side effect of causing the body's internal organs to liquefy. She's not a host, she's a shell. She's not a Goa'uld, Paul, better get that straight. This needs to get done soon, so Thor is waiting to be contacted. Once you contact him, he'll give you the message and beam you out close to her location. You might be SOL on the return beam out though, FYI, knowing Thor. Illyria is currently in Scotland with the Council."

Paul suddenly had the image of dozens of teenage girls laughing, smiling, doing each other's hair while 'Illyria the Merciless' stood over them with a murderous expression. He shuddered. The fact that those teenage girls were all likely to be Slayers didn't mean a whole lot. "And the h—shell?"

There was a long pause. "It's Fred, Paul, that human dickweed shoved an Old One into Fred."

Paul closed his eyes. He'd never met Winifred Burkle, but her disappearance and subsequent reappearance at Angel's side had raised flags. She was universally liked by her colleagues and was bright enough that she'd managed to teach Majo—excuse me, Lt. Colonel Carter a thing or two about quantum physics. She'd also been on a list, a very short list, of civilians that were deemed viable recruitment candidates for the Stargate program. "Damn."

"Illyria. She looks like Fred, talks like Fred, and has Fred's memories. But Paul, it ain't Fred, ya dig? She can go from happy Fred to red leather armor, blue streaky hair, 'I'm going to tear out your heart and make you watch while I eat it' Illyria in a heartbeat. A bit of good news is that Angel is around, so she shouldn't be too much of the latter."

"Noted, what else?"

"Remember what I said about arrogance and ego? Don't forget it, she's scary good at offending everyone in a room without knowing or caring. Blue has this whole speech about humans being muck and everything."

"Blue?" Paul asked, confused.

"When she goes 'balls to the walls' Illyria, she gets blue streaks in her hair. Blue eyes, blue lips, and some blue skin, too. Seeing the common theme here? Another good mood-o-meter is to pay attention when her Southern Belle accent vamooses," Faith explained.

"Alright, I'll take care of it," Paul said, trying to figure out how he was supposed to let his superiors know about all...this. "Does Lt. Colonel Carter know about Fred?"

"Not yet, wait, Sam got a promotion? Good on her. Anyway, no she doesn't. "

"Yes, she did and do it. They were friends," Paul told her firmly.

"I will. Thor told me O'Neill's back, does that mean Hammond is too?" Faith asked.

"No. General Hammond has been given a promotion and was reassigned. _Brigadier General _Jack O'Neill is slated to be the next CO at Stargate Command." Paul smiled, happy to think of something other than lost friends and ancient demons.

"No shit?" Faith asked, delighted, "he got a promotion, too?"

"No shit."

"Please tell me there's some equivalent to birthday spankings for promotions!?" Faith begged, "I know you military brats get pretty homoerotic at times."

Paul barked out a laugh. "Afraid not, Faith. Besides, we try _not_ to spank our superior officers. I'm going to let you go now, I apparently have some Gods to go pay homage to."

"Alright, thanks Paul, and good luck!"

Paul put the phone onto the receiver and thought about how he could pull this task off without having a certain blue older-than-dirt demon make him watch while it ate his heart.

#

"Paul?"

"Hm?" Faith asked somewhat absentmindedly as she put her phone into her pocket and put on her jacket.

"Who's Paul"

_Uh-oh, I know that tone. Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!_ "Major Paul Davis. He was the only "in the know" military guy they had on hand when I got beamed into the base. And yes, Buffy, we did have a thing. He's a nice, smart guy that can handle what's out there. Out there and out_ there_." The last was said with a finger pointed upwards. "He reminded me of Robin in some ways. It was pretty good for a while but we ended it before anything serious developed. He wanted a more permanent relationship with someone and we both knew that it wasn't going to be me."

Buffy eyed her.

"B...if you start getting jealous when we're around these people, we're gonna have us a problem."

Buffy opened her mouth and closed it. Faith watched her take a deep breath. "I know, I know. I just didn't expect to hear so much of it today." Buffy paused. "Aren't Sam and _Paul_ both like, twice as old as you?"

Faith rolled her eyes. "Really, B, _you_ want to go _there_? But yeah, they're both older by about a decade and some change," Faith responded. "Pretty sure it bothered Paul a lot more than it did Sam."

Buffy looked abashed for a moment than furrowed her brows as she observed Faith. "Faith, where are we going?"

"Shopping," Faith answered, finally finished with putting her shoes on. "I owe you some boots and then we're gonna go round us up a Brigadier General to give some promotion spankings to," the brunette said with a wicked glint in her eye. Buffy's face had gained a sort of dazed look when Faith had mentioned shopping, so Faith grabbed the other girl's coat and pulled her out of the apartment.

* * *

**October 25th, 2005**

Jack woke with a start at the sudden and explosive knocking at his front door. He instinctively grabbed his service pistol from his bedside table and rolled off the bed, coming to a defensive crouch. He cautiously crept towards his open bedroom door, trying to determine the nature of the threat. There was a silence then, the knocking suddenly cut off. The abruptness of it didn't make Jack feel any better.

He thought he heard voices and strained to listen. At least two, female, and by the sound of it, arguing. Jack's eyes narrow. _This better not be two drunk UCCS coeds lost trying to find the next party._

He jumped when the pounding on the door suddenly resumed. Jack slowly walked down the stairs, still holding the pistol in a ready position. The knocking continued. _Well at least it's not the NID or the Trust,_ he thought sarcastically, _they aren't nearly as obnoxious as this._

Jack held the gun behind his back with one hand while the other opened the door. He moved with the door, keeping his arm and pistol hidden from sight. Whoever these...bimbos...were, he was gonna make them cry, he couldn't wait. He opened his mouth, ready to begin his confidence-destroying, ego-busting rant when he realized that he knew one of the aforementioned bimbos. The one he didn't recognize looked incredibly annoyed. He sympathized with her. But the other...

"Oh for cryin' out loud!"

Faith advanced on him, entering his house and shaking her finger at him. "You don't call! You don't write! Do you know who told me you were back? Thor! I had to hear it from Thor!"

Jack held his hands up in surrender.

He didn't remember anything after that.

#

"What the fuck, B!?"

"He had a gun!"

"Of course he did, did you miss my attempts to wake the neighborhood with my delicate knocking? Of course he had a gun!"

"A gun!"

"Yes. You better get used to them if you're going anywhere with me. Now give me his gun, he'll want it back."

There was another pause while Jack tried to understand why he was staring at the ceiling and why both his hand and his nose were throbbing.

"What the fuck, B! What did you do to his gun!?"

"It's a gun!"

"Yes, Buffy, we've established that. You realize this is the guy whose ass we're supposed to kiss, right?"

"Look, I'm sorry alright? I'm sorry."

Jack's vision was suddenly filled by Faith's worried expression. "Hey Fai—" Jack cringed and held the not-throbbing hand up to his nose. His bleeding nose evidently, given the red that now stained that hand. "You broke my nose! Again! _And_ my hand!"

There was an unhappy sound several feet away. Jack followed the sound to see a short, pretty blonde looking extremely morose. "Sorry, that was me. I don't like guns."

She looked so miserable that Jack let Barbie Badass off the hook, for now at least. "Neither do I. You can start your ass kissing by getting Sam over here or by taking me to the base so I don't have to pay a million bucks at the ER."

Faith frowned. "I was told not to go near the base due to visiting VIPs." The blonde looked confused. "Very Important Persons, Buffy. Shit, Riley should have taught you that."

Jack ignored the byplay. "They left just this morning. Crap, I think my hand really is broken." Okay, so maybe he wouldn't let the blonde _completely _off the hook. "Take me to the base and tell me why my ass needs kissing. And give me my service weapon back, Lehane." He watched as Faith glared at the blonde even as she handed the gun back to Jack.

Except...it wasn't quite a gun. It looked like it might have been a gun once, but not so much anymore. The trigger and trigger guard had been crushed and the barrel had been bent sideways.

Jack sighed and eye the blonde who was staring down at the floor looking guilty. "Using my powers of deductive reasoning, her calling you Buffy must make you Buffy Summers." Seeing her hesitant nod, he shot Faith a dour expression. "Lovely, now there are two of you around to knock me on my ass."

"It's good to see you again, Jack," Faith said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, you too."

* * *

"So, let me run this by you again," Jack began, sitting in his office and looking across the desk at the blonde and brunette in front of him. "Just to make sure I've got this straight."

Faith winced. Jack was not happy and it wasn't just the broken nose and badly sprained wrist that had him in a mood.

"So as far as I can tell, you have four problems on your plate that you want me to solve. Let me break this down. Point one: there is an Old One on this planet that you knew of and didn't tell us about and Thor wants to meet her to determine whether or not the three remaining Great Races are needed to shove her back down that Well of yours. Yes?"

Faith nodded. "Thor thought the Ancient outpost in Antarctica would be a good place to meet, some place that was mostly absent of human, demon, or Asgard influence. The alternatives were here, which I'm sure you can agree is all sorts of a _bad_ idea, or going barhopping and hitting Caritas. Problem with the latter is that the idea of Thor meeting an Old One in a _bar_ makes me cringe just imagining it."

"But imagine the 'An Asgard and an Old One walk into a bar' joke possibilities," Jack said, a slight smile appearing on his face.

Buffy got an odd look on her face. "An Asgard and an Old One walk into a bar and the Old One says, "Where are my legions and my empire? Why am I surrounded by the filth and muck that calls itself humanity? In the old days I was blah-blah-blah."

Faith and Jack stared at her for a moment. Jack finally said, "I don't get it."

"I've spent a lot more time around her than you, Faith. She _loves_ the muck rant, like a whole 'apple a day' thing with her," Buffy said, rolling her eyes.

"From your description she seems more...petulant and nostalgic...than godlike and destroyer of man-ish," Jack observed.

"Yeah, well, when she first came around in LA she was able to teleport, make her own shields, alter time, and shoot energy at people. She could also apparently talk to plants. But the human form she'd been stuffed into wasn't strong enough to contain her and if Wesley and the others hadn't managed to drain her powers, then she would have burst at the seams. That could have wiped out the entire continent and she _still_ might have been able to survive that. For a former being able to do _that_ now reduced to what she is now...petulant and nostalgic fits the bill," Faith said.

"Christ, we'll get back to that on point number three. Neutral ground: Why not just some swanky hotel room? Or conference room in Area 51 or something?"

"There is an area 51?!" Buffy blurted out, "like Independence Day?"

Jack glared at her.

"Sorry," Buffy said, miming zipping her lips.

"Illyria is all about pride. If we're going to do this _without_ offending Illyria or convincing Thor that humanity is in danger of 'imminent destruction', than she needs to feel important. Antarctica is a bad idea because even though Thor can beam himself there, Illyria would be limited to a chopper or whatever you use to get there."

There was a knock at the door and before Jack even had a chance to respond, Daniel Jackson and Sam Carter came in. "Hey Jack, guess—oh."

"Sure, Dr. Jackson, please come right in! _Lt. Colonel_ Carter, you too! No problem with just barging in."

The two newcomers looked embarrassed.

"Ah, sorry about that. Oh, hey Faith!" Sam said, smiling.

Buffy eyed the other blonde stopping only when Faith kicked her shin.

"Come on take up a chair, maybe the two of you can weigh in on this," Jack said.

Sam and Daniel did just that, grabbing chairs from the side of the office to put them next to the two younger women.

"Jack gave me a promotion and command over SG-1," Sam told Faith, with a smile directed towards Jack.

"I heard, 'grats to the both of you," Faith said with an approving nod.

"If I have to be The Man, then I will do my best to use the powers of The Man in the name of all that is good," Jack said with an aggrieved tone and self-sacrificing expression.

"Sam, Daniel, the young woman beside me is Buffy Summers. I'm pretty sure I told you all about her," Faith said.

"Oh," Daniel said, looking surprised, "yes, it is a pleasure to meet you Buffy."

"Likewise," Sam said, extending her hand.

Buffy took Sam's hand and shook it, liking the blonde despite herself.

"So, who and what can we weigh on?" Daniel asked.

#

"Wow."

"I know, right?" Jack said, agreeing with Daniel.

"If you don't want to have Illyria travel somewhere with the Asgard transport or an extended helicopter ride, why not use the _Prometheus_?" Sam asked.

Daniel opened his mouth then closed it.

"The _Prometheus_?" Buffy asked.

Jack winced, "You really need to get her up to speed on things."

"I'm on it," Faith assured him.

"Antarctica might still be possible. The _Prometheus_ is the first human built interstellar battlecruiser that we've developed. It has the capability to transport people to an from areas within a certain distance. The planet, in this case, would be within that distance," Sam explained.

"We have spaceships?" Buffy exclaimed, "wow!" She then asked, "are the transporters the bright flashy thing that Thor used?"

"Not quite, but close enough," Daniel said.

"Illyria wouldn't have to depend on Thor for beaming in and out and might actually give her a chance to think a little better about the muck,"Faith thought out loud, slowly nodding.

"Would there be a danger to the _Prometheus?_" Jack asked.

"There is always a danger from Illyria," Buffy replied. Seeing his glare she hastily continued, "but I don't think so. Faith, I, or both of us _will _be with her and if something...bad happens, we should be able to hold her off long enough for you to beam us down again. I don't know of any reason why she'd suddenly go all "The Merciless" on you though."

Jack decided not to ask for an elaboration of "_should _be able to hold her off" and considered the option. "Well have to clear it with Colonel Pendergast, but it sounds like a viable solution. I'd also have to discuss it with Dr. Weir down in the land of ice and snow as well. She's the one that's been assigned to the project and she'll have to make sure her people stay out of the base."

"Weir turned out...alright. She shouldn't be a problem as long as we give her _some_ information. Seeing as she's not military, she'll have to be convinced rather than ordered," Daniel said with a pointed look towards Jack.

"Blech, what good is being a General if I can't tell people what to do."

"Okay, got this settled. Slayers, make sure the option is known to Her Demonness. Moving on. Point two, three, and four. Faith, from what you told me, a green skinned demon whose heart is located in his ass prophesied that you'll be going far away and for a long time. He then stated that Illyria is likely to go with you. Then he tells you, Buffy, that you should go with them. He said all of this, without saying when this trip would happen and what the trip's destination might be?"

"You saw Lorne?" Daniel perked up.

Jack looked askance at Daniel. "Have something to add to the class?"

"Ah, Lorne is a bit of a character. He runs a bar in town where anyone and anything can congregate without fear of violence. Literally, there's an actual spell that prevents it from humans and demons alike. Lorne himself is from a different dimension, Pylea, I think he said. He has the ability to see a person's future when they sing."

Jack just looked at him. "He has his _heart _in his _ass._"

Sam frowned, "Isn't Pylea where Fred disappeared to?"

Faith and Buffy glanced at each other and shared a wince. "Yeah, Lorne actually took Fred's place—but it wasn't his fault!"

"Yeah, I heard about that professor of hers," Sam said. Her brows furrowed at Faith and Buffy's wince, "what's wrong?"

Faith looked nervous. "Ah, Sam, about Fred."

"Illyria _is_ Fred," Buffy said bluntly. At Faith's glare, she defended herself hastily, "like ripping off a bandaid!" She turned towards Sam again who looked more confused then anything.

Faith sighed. "So, basically there was a really, really, _really_ stupid human who..."

#

"Where are Faith Lehane and Buffy Summers now?" Teal'c inquired.

"They went back to Faith's place, waiting to hear back from Major Davis," Daniel replied.

"I regret my absence. I would like to have met Buffy Summers," Teal'c said.

"Sorry about Fred, Sam," Jack said with a hand on her shoulder.

Sam nodded.

"What about the other issues?" Daniel asked.

"Seeing as both you and them put a lot of stock into this Lorne's "visions," we'll have to start planning for at least the possibility of Faith, Buffy, and even Illyria going off-world. Faith is about as good to go as she can get. She's had the physical stuff down since day one, and the weapons stuff by the end of the first week. Just about everything else has been languages, book learning, and practical application. Faith started when her education level was a lot lower than it should have been, but she probably still ended up learning more than she absolutely had to. If Faith starts putting Buffy through the paces, I'd be comfortable taking her off-world within a month or two and maybe an actual mission within six months. Faith has a better idea of what Buffy needs and what her capabilities are, she'll be able to make it work better than we did."

"And what of Illyria?" Teal'c asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jack eyed the former Jaffa. Or more correctly, he eyed the former Jaffa's hair. Teal'c mouth twitched in annoyance.

"By all accounts, Illyria no longer has any bodily requirements. When Fred was transitioning into Illyria her..." Sam paused and shook her head, "her internal organs were liquefied. Faith said that Illyria referred to her body as a shell, remember? She literally is that. She has no stomach, no lungs, no bladder and requires none of the _physical_ needs that we lowly mortals have."

Daniel pursed his lips. "And apparently she's far faster and stronger than any Slayer or demon, and that's _after_ she lost her powers. If you're willing to accept the hearsay, Buffy reported Angel as saying that the only time she was ever truly beaten on a physical level was against a direct agent of Wolfram & Hart. There's no doubt that she _could_ be an asset."

"But one hell of a risk," Sam countered, playing devil's advocate.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"And the _prophecy?_" Jack asked.

"Lorne doesn't exactly prophesy. I'm not sure where it all comes from, but Lorne is able to see parts of your past and future from whatever it is that you sing. He knew that I had ascended, for example. He didn't know what that was or what it meant, but he knew that I had been to a higher plane of existence. Personal choice can change what he sees and not everything he sees comes to pass because of those choices," Daniel explained.

"And the fact that he's a demon?" Jack pressed.

"From what I understand of demons, Lorne would be of the variety that is classified as more 'interdimensional traveler' than 'evil spawn of hell.'" Sam replied.

"Would this not conflict with your theory on entropic cascade failure?" Teal'c asked.

"No. Entropic cascade failure takes place when moving between realities, not dimensions. Dimensions are attached to a particular reality, meaning a separate reality has entirely separate dimensions as well and—," Sam began, but was cut off.

"Enough, please," Jack said before prompting again, "Illyria?"

"One thing at a time, Jack. Illyria likely knows just about everything she needs to. Buffy said that for all her arrogance, she really is an extremely brilliant...creature. One who still retains Fred's memories and grasp of physics. Given what else we know about the Old Ones, it's likely that Illyria's understanding of physics probably transcends our own by light years. She clearly knew of the Ancients, at least to some extent, given her knowledge of the '_Astria Porta_'," Daniel said with a raised eyebrow.

Sam nodded slowly.

Teal'c's brows furrowed. "Do we know how it is that Illyria knows of the Ancients and presumably the other three Great Races? Or how they know of her, individually?"

Daniel opened his mouth to respond then stopped. "No. We don't."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Teal'c said with great solemnity.

Jack glared at him. And at his hair.

* * *

**October 27th, 2005**

Major Paul Davis looked straight ahead as he walked towards the castle's main entrance on the paved street. Duart Castle was impressive, he acknowledged, made even more so by the numerous unseen eyes that he felt watching his every movement.

He felt ridiculous, wearing his class A dress blues and holding the silver disk that Thor had given to him that would contain the message to the Old One. He didn't even have the comforting weight of his service pistol at his side and he felt like he could really use that comfort right about now. His shoulders itched at the weight of those unseen eyes. He passed under a small castle gate sans portcullis and found himself at a set of wooden doors. He straightened and took off his flight cap, tucking it under his belt on the left side of his body. Regs were important, even when facing down a horde of terrifying teenage girls who could rip his limbs off with their flawlessly manicured hands.

A single knock on the door left him faced with that horde. About six girls, all looking well under 18, stared at him with a mix of curiosity, worry, aggression, fear, and interest. He wasn't sure which of the latter three worried him most. "Hello, I'm Major Paul Davis of the United States Air Force, could I please speak to Rupert Giles, Xander Harris, or Angel?"

The mix of emotions seemed to swing towards the aggression scale.

"I'm here on behalf of Faith Lehane," he added, hopefully.

The emotions swung towards curiosity. That, he could work with. A redhead, one of those that had showed interest, stepped forward. "Hi Paul, I'm Leah. Giles and Angel aren't around right now, but I can get Xander if you'd like?"

Davis twitched at the familiar use of his name. "That would be great, thanks."

"XANDER!"

Paul cringed at Leah's shrill scream. The other girls looked amused and eventually backed away from the door to reveal an older man. He wore brown work boots, denim jeans, and a long-sleeved grey shirt. The most distinctive identifying trait was the black eyepatch that covered his left eye.

"You bellowed?" he asked, talking to Leah but not looking away from Paul.

"Army guy wants to talk to you," Leah said, smiling sweetly.

Paul nodded his head. "Major Paul Davis, US Air Force."

Xander gave him a searching look. "Faith?"

Paul made a waffling motion with his hand. "I'm here on behalf of her, sort of."

Xander's mouth twitched into the ghost of a smile. "Complicated?"

"Yes," Paul said, relieved to be understood.

"I know a place we can talk privately," Xander stated and left the door open without any invitation.

Paul understood, Faith having told him of the practice in the early days of their relationship, though he pitied any vampire that tried to enter _this_ place. He stepped over the threshold and followed the younger man, going up a set of stairs and through several hallways before they ended up in front of a nondescript wooden door.

Xander noticed his curious look. "Living with a gaggle of Slayers-in-Training teaches you a few things, like the value of privacy and how to maintain it. If you know of us, and presumably Willow, then you'll understand that she made this room private."

Paul nodded. "I understand. I'm not afraid to say magic, Mr. Harris, I knew of that world even before I met Faith."

"Please, call me Xander." Xander opened the door and let him enter first. It wasn't a fancy room. A large table surrounded by comfortable looking chairs and a couch in one of the corners of the room. "So you were with Faith for a while, right? She said you were a good man."

Paul nodded. "Faith is an interesting person, and a good one too." The last bit had a little edge on it, and Paul inwardly winced. But Xander just held up his hands.

"We all made stupid mistakes, Major, didn't mean to stir anything up."

"I know," Paul acknowledged, "my apologies as well."

"Why are you here, Major Davis? It didn't sound like something was wrong with her but..." Xander trailed off, looking expectantly at him.

"I'm aware that you are one of the few here who is aware of _my_ world. About the Stargate," Paul said, getting a nod from the younger man. "There has been a development and its one that..." he floundered for a second. "My duties in the Air Force are to act as a liaison with the Stargate program and the Pentagon. I'm here in a similar capacity but with different parties involved."

Xander looked confused.

Paul gritted his teeth. "With Illyria."

Xander's eyes went wide and was speechless for a moment. Paul decided to continue. "Apparently one of the most advanced races in the galaxy keeps an eye on the Deeper Well and discovered that there had been a breach."

"Illyria," Xander said, understanding.

"One of the _other_ most advanced races in the galaxy then came here and spoke with Faith about that breach. That other race is trying to determine whether they and the various other advanced races need to come here and get involved."

"Which would be bad."

"Not necessarily bad," Paul corrected, "but certainly messy and _possibly_ bad. Faith is working to arrange a meeting with Illyria to avoid that."

Xander leaned back in his chair, mouth pursed in thought. "Coming in your blues to flatter her?"

"Yes."

"Faith's idea?"

"Yes."

"Smart girl," Xander said with the faintest of smiles. "It won't hurt your case, don't know if it will help though either. I can take you to Illyria now, if you like, but trying to convince her to _do_ anything is kinda like herding cats. Cats that can punch a hole through your body." He paused and then winced. "She might also not react at all to your presence."

"What do you mean?" Paul asked.

Xander cringed. "She's been staring at a ficus for the last..." The carpenter looked at his watch, "well over 24 hours now."

Major Davis just closed his eyes and shook his head.

Xander gave him a sympathetic look. "Well, no time like the present."

Paul followed him out back into the castle halls.

#

She heard it.

For the first time in so very long, Illyria heard the Song of the Green. It wasn't just the song which satisfied her, it was the knowledge that while her powers may have been depleted, but they were not altogether gone. And that those powers might be slowly returning. A small smile came to her lips. She wasn't sure what would happen when she regained her strength and the uncertainty annoyed her. The smile disappeared.

Illyria knew that she'd never be as powerful as she once was, not even close. This pathetic shell wasn't capable of handling that sort of power but evidently it could handle _more_ than it currently contained. But gaining even a measure of her former power would put her in a position to begin reclaiming her empire, to rebuild that which was once hers. Except...

Winifred Burkle's humanity was a disease that lingered inside her. Festered and plagued her with doubts and inconvenient feelings. It was a disease she was unable to cure and that, like the uncertainty, also annoyed her.

If she didn't reclaim her empire, she also didn't think she could continue as she did now. Living among the muck fighting things that were even less impressive than they. She was obsolete and that was intolerable.

"Illyria."

Illyria ignored the one-eyed man and continued to listen to the quiet, almost silent Song of the Green. It had been so long...

"Illyria."

She lost her grasp on the song. She clenched her fists. She felt like ripping out the boy's other eye for his insolence, but Illyria knew that he was valuable to the others. That his value to the agents of the Powers that Be was great enough for Caleb of the First Evil to take a special interest in him.

Illyria closed her eyes and turned around, now wearing the face of Winifred Burkle. There were two men in front of her. The one-eyed man and another who was dressed...oddly. Formally, perhaps, it looked like an attempt at making a uniform at least.

"Hey y'all!"

#

Paul had watched the woman as they approached her. She hadn't looked like Fred, not in the ways it mattered, at least. She was as Faith had described but Faith hadn't done enough justice to describing how...cold the Old One looked. The red leather, as Faith had described it, looked more like a carapace. Her eyes were a solid blue but for the blackness of the iris in the center.

Xander's second attempt at acquiring the Old One's attention and Paul watched as the creature's form began to change as she turned around. By the time Illyria was fully facing them, it wasn't Illyria anymore, it was Fred.

"Hey y'all!"

But it wasn't Fred, and he knew it. The words and the tone made him shudder at the knowledge of what had truly happened to Fred. He was aware that Illyria herself wasn't responsible for what happened to Fred, not directly at least, but he had to take a deep breath to keep himself from getting angry as he looked at the innocent, human face that had been belonged to a friend of so many.

"Illyria, this is Major Paul Davis of the United States Air Force. He wished to speak with you," Xander said. He didn't say this slowly as if talking to an idiot, but he did seem to put emphasis on certain words.

"Of course, I'd be happy to help," Illyria said in a pleasant southern twang.

"It is an honor to meet you, Illyria," Major Davis said with a small bow. "Faith Lehane has spoken of you and your kind before, I know that it is a rarity for one such as I to stand in front of one such as you."

"You seek to flatter me," Illyria said in a flat voice.

"Yes," Paul replied simply.

Illyria cocked her head and studied him. Paul idly noticed that she did so in a manner that was somewhat reminiscent of Thor. It was the alienness of it, he decided, that made it seem so.

"You represent your country's legions and mention the Slayer. What is it that brings you before me?" she asked, her voice still cool.

Paul thought quickly. "Can we speak here without being overheard by others? Or can we speak in the room Xander said had been spelled?"

"We are alone, but for Xander. The other Slayers won't bother me for now."

"She broke Renee's arm earlier," Xander explained to Paul quietly, and not without a little anger.

Illyria ignored him

Paul slowly extended the silver disk Thor had handed him. Illyria studied him for a moment before studying the disk and eventually taking it from his hand. There was an unfamiliar language imprinted on the disk, Paul had noticed, and she was clearly capable of reading it. The Old One smiled. It didn't make him feel any better.

Illyria changed again, her form morphing to reveal a face that reminded him nothing of the pictures he'd seen of Fred other than the shape and length of hair. The moment she completed her change and pressed her thumb into the middle, the disk began to emit a soft yellow glow. An image sprang from the disk, a wall of text in yet another unfamiliar language shown in a blue light that hovered in the air in front of her.

"Know what it says?" Xander asked him.

"Nope."

It took about ten minutes for Illyria to complete her study of the message at which point she reverted back to the form of Fred. "Well now, this is gonna be fun!" she said with that deep southern accent, smiling all the while.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **There were a few points in this story where information was repeated. I tried my best to avoid having to repeat whole segments by adding scene breaks, so I hope that didn't throw anyone off. Also boom, once again I am passing my previous record making this the longest chapter I've ever written. I actually wanted to include the meeting in this chapter, but I thought that might make the chapter a little too eventful not to mention far longer. This way I can also add in some time between this scene and the actual meeting, providing some necessary time for Faith to teach Buffy more about the 'final frontier' and all that other filler crap.

Illyria and her powers: I didn't like Illyria just being sort of an overpowered demon, but I didn't want her all uber God-King either. I wanted a better balance that would provide her not just the physical strengths she already possessed, but at least _some_ of the powers she once had. She won't be getting any time related powers, or teleportation, or the other ridiculous ones, but some of the small ones...maybe.  
I also liked the idea of her studying the ficus as being a form of meditation. In the SG universe, some beings managed to Ascend simply because of their continuous meditation and I liked her being able to emulate that to some extent.

If you didn't catch the Blues Brothers reference, shame on you.


	7. Land of the Ice and Snow

**— Thor's Slayers ****—**

**Chapter Seven**

_**Land of the Ice and Snow**_

* * *

**Important Story Notes: **Alright, so I'm having to go back and make a few changes regarding the time frame. This includes tossing out a few dates to help tie events together. I figure adding "three days later" doesn't mean much without any kind of previous reference.

I'll also be correcting any references I've made about whether Buffy or Faith were older. _Faith_ is in fact the older Slayer. Faith being born on December 14, 1980 while Buffy was born in January 19, 1981. Calling Buffy the older Slayer is true, but making that sort of technicality seems kind of lame. I'm now combing through the story searching for older girl/younger girl | older Slayer/younger Slayer references. Feel free to point them out so I can adjust it to be more accurate.

**Sorentia: **I'm glad that I was successful in conveying Buffy's attitude towards firearms. Keep in mind however, that "viable weaponry" has the potential to be a very different arena when fighting aliens. Throwing an axe at a target 25-50 meters away isn't really all that practical (and likely only possible for a Slayer) when a pistol can hit harder and faster at an even greater range. In close quarters combat, that isn't the case, but in any open field Buffy's greatest strengths would be greatly diminished which is why Buffy might want to learn more about them/how to use them.  
Whistler's origins weren't really discussed until the comics where, as you said, it was revealed that he was the offspring of a union between one of the _agents_ of the Powers that Be and a pure-breed demon. The parents were both killed for their union and the child only survive because the PtBs had a use for him as an agent to help maintain the balance. I don't believe that the mother was actually an Old One, though. All of the Old Ones were pure-breed demons, but not all pure-breed demons were Old Ones, right? (Consider the Scourge from Angel season 1) I don't believe he was ever actually called a "Balance Demon" and to most of the supernatural world he was closer to an abomination. I like the idea of him being a little more woo-woo mystical than he really was and I did _not_ like that he went sort of evil and/or crazy.  
**HowlnMadHowie: **Don't forget that in the first part of the story, Major Davis had tried to get Wesley and Faith to sign NDAs, both of whom refused to do so. Access was granted to them anyway because of international pressure resulting from their ties to the British government (Watcher's Council and Giles's visit to England to recover WC accounts) I also believe I stated that Buffy already had a high enough clearance level to enter the base without causing undue fuss. Yes, I used the Initiative trope to explain that.

**Author's Notes: **Alright folks, a bit of a heads up. There are likely going to be a few 'huh?' moments for you as well as a completely different timeline for the history of the Ancients presented to you. Just bear with me and I'll try to explain my reasoning and fill in the blanks. At the end of the chapter I'm going to lay out the details of the canon timeline, how I'd change the timeline, and how it interacts with BtVS mythology.

As a side note: Brigadier Generals are addressed as "General" which I discovered when I became annoyed when trying to write people addressing Jack as "Brigadier General." Anyhow, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

#

**November 10th, 2005**

"B...you're doing it wrong," Faith said, trying not to smile. She was laying on her back in Monument Park, looking up into Buffy's green eyes.

"It's hard, okay, I need more practice," Buffy said, pouting.

"I don't believe tongue is generally required for practicing CPR," Faith said, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow.

Buffy looked unrepentant. "Practice," she repeated.

Faith rolled her eyes. It had been two weeks since Faith had begun working with Buffy to get her up to speed as quickly as possible. Two weeks since Paul delivered Thor's message to Illyria. And Thor was meeting with Illyria in three days using the plan Sam had presented in General O'Neill's office. Illyria had been curious about seeing the Ancient outpost, which in itself had caused second guessing about whether or not to let her wander around the Ancient ruins even sans Stargate. In the end, it was deemed the best solution. Dr. Weir had been agreeable enough that she was willing to have her people moved, temporarily, to McMurdo Air Force Base. The "temporarily" aspect had been heavily emphasized, according to Jack.

The delay was mostly about bureaucracy, as Faith understood. Getting the right people's approval to make it all happen. Pendergast, for example, hadn't been all that cheerful about the prospect of bringing unknown civilians onboard, not with the first launch of the _Prometheus _still fresh in his mind.

So Faith had used the spare time to good use by catching Buffy up on "space things" even as their relationship continued to develop. Teaching Buffy innocuous things like military rankings, slang, and acronyms which weren't strictly _necessary_, but certainly helpful if she were to find herself surrounded by trained, disciplined military personnel. As it turned out, Riley _had_ managed to teach her _some _of those things already, which gave her a bit of a leg up. Jessica McLeod, at Faith's request, had taken Buffy to a shooting range to teach her about firearms and required maintenance while Faith tried to figure out a lesson plan of some sort.

Faith had taken two years to learn all...this. Now she had to figure out a way to cram it into a much shorter period of time because she had a feeling that they were getting close to getting gone and "a demon had a vision" didn't make for a convincing argument for being allowed to go off-world. After the guns, which Buffy still didn't like but seemed to have come to terms with, Faith had taken Boyd's advice in furthering Buffy's skillset.

_"Teach her what she needs to know to survive." _The leader of SG-10 hadn't asked any questions about why Buffy might need to know such things; damn if the man wasn't a saint.

When she thought about it, about what Buffy might need, she'd decided to use what she had learned about marine boot camp to use as a sort of guide. Marine boot camp was almost three months long, three months of harsh physical training, mental conditioning, water survival, combat training, and other more specific skills. Buffy didn't need to know the history and traditions of the Corps and physical and mental conditioning wouldn't do too much for the blonde either. Frankly, she already had enough mental fortitude and any discipline issues she might have were as much a product of Slayer instincts as anything else. In the end, even putting aside Buffy's physical abilities as a Slayer, she would finish with a much more diverse, practical, and expansive skillset than most cadets would ever leave the crucible with. Such a claim had been a major selling point as far as Jack was concerned, a claim that could be easily substantiated with the same battery of tests Faith had undertaken.

Another advantage Buffy possessed was more formal education than she herself had, and the blonde had already proven with her SAT scores that she was extraordinarily bright. However, Faith knew about survival, she knew a great deal about survival. Not just survival in the wilderness, but on the streets, and it was the kind of survival which bred an attitude one didn't develop in the warm bosom of a suburb, one that had to be called upon from time to time. Faith had put Buffy through the paces with a three day long hike through the Rocky Mountains on Long's Peak, a trek that encompassed wilderness and winter survival skills, especially in late November. All the while, Faith was telling Buffy everything she could think of about the Goa'uld, the Asgard, Ra, Anubis, Loki...everything she could recall being told. There was still an uncertainty about how their two worlds meshed, but Faith did the best she could to mash it together into something that made sense, although Thor's familiarity with the Old Ones had raised a new bunch of questions that would hopefully be answered soon.

A few days of rest had given time for Faith to teach Buffy a few words in several different languages that might possibly be helpful as well. Faith had then run her through a crash course on orienteering through a nice walk in the eastern plains of Colorado. As it turns out, Buffy was absolute rubbish at orienteering, to the point where it was actually embarrassing. Buffy had been uber pissed at her when she'd allowed Buffy to direct them 15 miles in the _opposite_ direction of where they were supposed to be headed. Twice.

Either way, she had a crash course of survival training and were covering some of the other basics, like CPR. Buffy liked CPR, apparently. Their relationship hadn't progressed much further than it had two weeks ago, still limited to kisses and even a few make-out sessions, but it was just a matter of time before they took the next step. Faith wasn't sure if they'd waited because they were expecting the other shoe to drop that would doom them or if it was something else. But for now, it was okay. It was more than okay.

Buffy sighed and sat down on the couch, face only showing a hint of the sunburn she'd acquired after their long walk. "I'm tired."

It was more of a whine than it was a declaration or statement and Faith smiled at the petulant tone. "You can rest for a bit, but you have more stuff to do later."

Buffy gave her wide eyes. "What? Aren't I done yet?"

Faith laughed, which made Buffy's face drop. "Sam's coming over later; gonna get yourself an intro to physics and Stargates and the other crap I still don't understand. She's a really good tutor but you better strap in, she'll ride you pretty hard." The perfect word choice and just the right emphasis and...

Buffy blushed. "Stop it. That is _not _funny. I can't look at her after you say stuff like that."

Faith smiled and gestured to herself with a slow, regal sweep of her hand. "One day, lad. All this will be yours."

"What?"

Faith lost the smile. "Seriously? We watched Monty Python in _prison,_ how have you not seen it?"

Buffy shrugged.

"We'll add that to list of things to do," Faith said authoritatively.

The older brunette watched with a small smile as the blonde Slayer seemed to fold into herself and closed her eye. Buffy pouted and murmured a quiet, "I'm tired."

Buffy was exhausted, Faith could tell, it was in the lethargy she displayed now and the stiffness of her movements.. A Slayer could only take so much and the only reason Faith wasn't in the same state was because she'd been working up to this for two years. After closing her eyes, the blonde had fallen asleep almost instantly. Faith watched her for a moment before quietly leaving the room to ask Sam to hold off on her lesson with Buffy for an hour. Buffy had earned that nap.

* * *

It wouldn't be long now.

Illyria closed her eyes. It had been so long since she'd last encountered one of the Asgard, but she could still remember impaling it with one of her tentacles and feeding it to one of her generals. Those had been better times, times when she would not have to _deal_ and come to an _agreement_ with the mortal creatures. A time that was no longer hers.

She knew that this meeting would have a far different subtext to it than previous ones she may have had in the past and knew that the Asgard would be there to 'judge' her in some fashion. She was not overly concerned. The Furlings and the Nox wouldn't seek conflict and she had done nothing yet to warrant their active involvement. The Alterans were gone and the Asgard...well they were the race that Illyria was unsure of. It had been _so_ long.

She was...excited, Illyria realized. Excited to encounter someone that knew of her true self and had gone to such lengths to arrange a meeting. It spoke of respect and the muck about her were sorely lacking in that.

The excitement was a product of the humanity inside her, she knew, for if she had not been infected, her sole desire would have been to destroy this Asgard, to eviscerate this member of one of the species that had helped destroy or entomb her own. Yet despite the crippling weakness of humanity she had regained the ability to hear the Song, to some extent at least. She did not know what that meant, but she knew that she was changing in both power and spirit. Her shell had not changed or placed additional constrains upon her, but the infection grew and yet...so did her power. It seemed incongruous but it was undeniable. It was something to be studied at another time.

Illyria thought the meeting place an apt one. Seeing even the remains of an abandoned Alteran outpost would be...gratifying. She did not like having to rely on the muck to be transported there but she liked the idea of relying on this...Thor even less. She admitted to herself that it was intriguing that the muck had been able to utilize and integrate technology clearly superior to their own and mold it into a viable method of warring against the Furlings' pathetic chosen caretakers. She was unsure if this human capability to integrate the Alteran's technology into their own made them scavengers, seeking the best scraps from the bones of their ancestors, or if it meant that they possessed a level of innovation that she had not been aware of.

She had been unsure of why these muck would hide such advances from their own kind. Perhaps a prelude to warfare against their own king? A coup to take power for their own? Xander Harris had said neither, that they didn't want the rest of the humans to react like they would if they found out demons existed.

It was strange how a single human like Xander could be rational, almost intelligent even, yet a group of individuals of the same species would somehow degenerate into a mass of unintelligent, fearful, bleating sheep. When she mentioned this, he had smiled and asked if she'd gotten that from a movie. She had threatened to disembowel him for his mockery.

It wouldn't be long now before the two eldest Slayers would arrive to serve as her guides and escorts. She had never met either of them, though the shell possessed a few memories of the one they call 'Faith.' The few memories the shell possessed indicated that she behaved in a manner reminiscent of Spike in some respects. Her presence shouldn't be unbearable and that her acquaintances included the Asgard and the muck that had access to their own Astria Porta was...intriguing and presented new possibilities.

* * *

**November 11th, 2005**

"No."

"Faith!"

"No!"

"C'mon, she can't be _that_ bad."

"Yes, she _is_ that bad, Jack. And _you're_ the kind of person who will needle and mock her, which would be..." Faith searched for the right words.

"Of the bad," Buffy supplied. Faith vigorously nodded her agreement.

"You'll protect me though, and Thor will be there!" Jack whined.

"Jack, I need you to understand this: we _can't_ protect you from Illyria, not even when she is so 'weak and pathetic'," Faith said gravely.

"I don't know Thor really but you should keep in mind how tip-toe-y he's being. I mean, this is the guy who has no compunction about spontaneously beaming people up to the mothership, right? You should be wondering why he won't do the same for her," Buffy said with crossed arms.

"He could protect you, but you would be a disruption...which would be bad," Faith said, meeting Jack's narrowed eyes.

"I wanted to meet her," Jack complained, "and that's _General _Jack O'Neill to you, young ladies."

Buffy smirked while Faith rolled her eyes. "_Jack_," the brunette said, "you don't want to meet her. What you want is to go poke her with a stick."

"Sounds about right," a smirking Sam said.

SG-1, the two Slayers, and Major Davis were ensconced in the conference room at the SGC. It was Buffy's first visit and her reaction to the Stargate had made Jack laugh.

_"These Ancient guys turned a metal circle with stick figures dawn on it into an interstellar travel thing-y?"_

At their request, Thor and Illyria had allowed the humans to send an observer to the meeting as Faith and Buffy were apparently enjoying a unique status in the eyes of the Asgard and the Old One that didn't count them as human. No one was quite sure what to say to that, but Jack had been the first to put his name forward.

"Not Teal'c," Faith said. "No offense big guy, but I'm pretty sure you'll offend Illyria with your presence." She made a gesture to Teal'c's stomach as elaboration.

Teal'c raised a brow but said nothing.

"This seems like an absurd amount of trouble to appease someone who 'ain't all that' anymore," Jack said.

"It is," Faith agreed. "I think Thor is freaked. If he knows anything about her old self, then he'd _have_ to be freaked. And I bet he has this image of the rest of the Old Ones being freed by Illyria just stuck in that big noggin of his."

"I'm willing to go," Major Davis stated in the ensuing quiet. "I've met her before."

"Dr. Jackson should go."

Everyone turned to Buffy at her statement.

Buffy looked unsure of herself but mustered on. "Dr. Jackson...from what Faith has said and from what I've seen, you're one of the more open-minded individuals around. You've directly interacted with two of the big races Thor mentioned which I think might help with the whole perspective thing." She paused for a moment before continuing softly. "Faith also said that you ascended and interacted with the Ancients. That might mean something to her as well."

"Something good or something bad?" Sam asked.

Buffy shrugged and all the eyes in the room were now on Daniel.

The archaeologist rubbed his chin in thought. "I'm really not supposed to do or say anything, right? Just shut up and look pretty?"

Faith smiled sweetly at him. "Daniel, you're _always _pretty."

Daniel blushed.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, but Illyria...she's not _Evil_. I kinda think you've gained that impression. But she's not, Evil I mean, the Old Ones, from what I know, were brutal and violent and constantly at war with one another. They were cruel and ruthless but they weren't _Evil._ Not all of them, at least. Giles told me that it was more accurate to say that the Old Ones were kinda like elementals, ya know? Forces of nature. They might have done terrible, horrific things from our perspective but those things probably didn't even register to them."

Jack glared at her. "That isn't making me feel any better."

"No, but it's an interesting perspective on these Old Ones," Daniel murmured.

"I think _you _should go," Buffy repeated.

Major Davis and the members of SG-1 exchanged looks before Jack and Daniel finally nodded.

* * *

**November 13th, 2005**

"That was neat," Buffy commented as the rings that transporter her aboard the _Prometheus_ left their sight.

"Yeah, gotta say it's a lot more interesting than the ol' 'beam me up, Scotty'," Faith agreed.

A male voice cut through their chatter, focusing their attention on the man that had been waiting for them. "Dr. Jackson, pleasure to meet you, I'm Colonel Lionel Pendergast, welcome aboard the _Prometheus."_

"Thank you, Colonel. Are you ready to send us to our next destination?"

"We are. We're expecting an additional visitor as well?"

Daniel nodded.

Faith's nose suddenly scrunched up. "Hey, who's that?" She was pointing at a man holding a tablet while speaking with another crewmember.

Pendergast glanced behind him then gave Faith a confused look. "That's my XO, Colonel Kirkland, why?"

Faith shrugged, "Ah, nothin'. Just really looks like Major Henry Boyd from SG-10."

Buffy narrowed her eyes then nodded. "He really does."

Daniel and Pendergast gave them blank looks.

"Nevermind, ready to rock when you are, DJ," Faith said with a smile.

#

"Well that's nifty."

Daniel and the two Slayers looked to see a smiling Xander standing nearby from where they had been beamed down to.

"It is, isn't it?" Buffy said with a soft smile before walking up to the man and giving him a big hug. "How are you?"

"Good, good." Xander nodded towards Daniel. "Hi, I'm Xander Harris. Rumor is that you're here to collect Illyria."

"Yes, hi. I'm Dr. Jackson, I—"

"The blusher!" Xander crowed. "You're the guy that Faith loves tormenting!"

Daniel blushed.

Faith smiled, "Hey Xander."

"Faith," Xander acknowledged. The greeting held warmth but was still somewhat tense even after all this time. Out of all the Scoobies, he was probably the one that held onto grudges the longest.

"Come on," Xander said, leading the, to the castle that stood maybe half a mile away. "I gotta say, I'm pretty thrilled you're taking Blue Thunder out of here, even if it's just for a short time."

"Something else happen?" Buffy asked.

"Not exactly. Renee will be fine in a little while, it's just that..." Xander hesitated.

"Yes?" Faith drew the word out, trying to coax an answer from the one-eyed man.

"It's just that ever since Major Davis came by, well, when she's not staring at the ficus, she's...smiling."

Daniel looked confused while his two companions looked somewhat panicked. "I don't get it."

"We're talking about a being who has show little interest in anything. Her current hobbies are staring at plants and inventing new ways of murdering someone's face off," Xander replied. "I see her smiling and I keep expecting the next room I walk into to be filled with bodies and painted with blood."

The others stared at him.

"Okay, maybe it's not _that _bad. But it's creepy as hell," Xander allowed. "Even Angel has been keeping his distance."

"Hey y'all!"

The voice startled the quartet and Daniel looked ahead of them to see a smiling brunette in a white dress walking out of the archway at the entrance to the castle. She was slender, maybe a few inches taller than Faith. He hadn't really thought that this terrifying, powerful, ancient being could truly resemble a human, not even after all his experience with the Goa'uld. Yet this...Old One not only resembled a human, it was able to impersonate one uncomfortably well.

"We ready to get a move on or what?" 'Fred' asked again with that dazzling smile.

"See," Xander whispered, "creepy."

Daniel nodded as the Old One joined their small party. "Hello Illyria, I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson."

"Well that's swell," The Old One said cheerfully.

Xander shuddered. "Alright, I'm heading back. Good luck to all of you. Please don't kill anyone, Illyria."

The being who resembled Fred said nothing. She just smiled. She looked at him and tilted her head. Her voice, when it came again, had lost the southern twang and had become flat and cold. "You are human, but...you have been something else, too."

Daniel didn't quite know what to say to _that_ but Illyria continued after just a few seconds. Her eyes seemed to become bluer as she stepped closer to him, studying him. He noted that her lips had acquired a bluish tint as well.

"You stink of the Alterans."

Then she was gone, humming as she walked back the way they'd come. He looked at Buffy and Faith, both of whom looked tense. "Alteran?"

"No idea," they said in unison.

"Wow," Daniel said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, Big Blue is a whole bottle of that," Faith muttered.

#

"Now wasn't that just fun," Illyria drawled after they had been transported back onto the _Prometheus._

Once again, Colonel Pendergast was there to greet them. "Hello, ma'am, I'm Colonel Pendergast, the commanding officer of this ship." The man extended a hand.

Daniel felt like shouting at the guy to keep his hand to himself. Instead, Illyria smiled at him and took his hand in a gentle shake. She had dimples, Daniel noted idly.

"Hi there Colonel. This looks like a fine ship if I say so myself."

Daniel saw the man classify Illyria as a non-threat and re-classify as an object of potential interest. The quickest way to Captain's heart was through his ship, obviously.

"It is ma'am. How would you like to get a better view?" The Colonel said with an inviting smile.

"Well I'd just be delighted, Colonel." Illyria looped her arm around Pendergast's proffered elbow.

Before Daniel could suggest otherwise, the Colonel escorted the Old One to the viewport. He looked at Buffy and Faith, his eyes seeking their advice.

"We wait for her to finish her tour or whatever," Buffy, "and then we'll do the ring thing."

"And hope to god that Colonel Charming over there doesn't try to play grab-ass," Faith said with more cynicism. She sighed and put down the pack she had been carrying. "Might as well get this crap out," she muttered as she began rooting through its contents.

Faith took out two pars of gloves, beanies with attached balaclavas, and two fleece jackets. She handed one of each to Buffy who, like her, was already wearing a pair of winter boots. Faith noticed Buffy's sour expression and asked,"what?"

Buffy motioned to her shoes, the jacket, and the gloves.

Faith stared at her in confusion.

Buffy huffed. "They don't match!"

Daniel snorted and moved forward to catch up to their errant Old One and her would-be suitor. As he approached the viewport, he glanced briefly behind to catch sight of Faith and Buffy still bickering even as they held hands.

#

The moment they were back on terra firma, Illyria...changed. The blue eyes and lips he'd glimpsed earlier were back in full force. They were now accompanied by blue streaks that ran through her hair and her clothes more closely resembled red armor, all just as Buffy had described. It was almost a relief though to see her like this instead of presenting the face of humanity. It was still disturbing, how could it not be? but it was a different, more tolerable type of disturbing. She reminded him of the Nox, he realized., the otherworldliness of her that was so compelling. Except the Nox were peaceful, supposedly, while Illyria appeared to be just the opposite.

They descended into the base by lift and soon found themselves in the same chamber that the beta Stargate had once been stationed. Illyria spent a few moments studying the room and seemed to study the area the Stargate had once occupied. The various research stations and experiments that had occupied this area were now either neatly organized against the walls of the chamber or had been moved to McMurdo. The space was now taken by a large, rectangular, metal table and five slightly more impressive chairs that looked warm enough to sit in that you didn't have to worry about leaving your ass behind when you tried to stand up. That being said, Daniel was willing to wager that Thor was bringing his own chair.

"There was once an Astria Porta at this outpost," Illyria murmured before taking a seat at one head of the table, staring straight ahead, unblinking, and absolutely still. Buffy and Faith say on one side of the table while Daniel took the other. Daniel opened to ask how she knew that but was interrupted by a bright flash of light that erupted within the room.

On the opposite head of the table in his throne-like chair sat Thor, short and grey as ever. The chair that had been set out for him was gone, Daniel noted almost absentmindedly.

"Aren't you cold?!" Buffy blurted out.

It was Illyria who answered the question, not bothering to look at Buffy as she did so. "His people are sufficiently advanced that they do not require the skins and furs of lesser creatures to retain their warmth." There was an implied "unlike some other weak and pathetic race that disgraces this place with their presence" attached to that statement.

Thor just nodded and stared at Illyria, who gave Thor the same measuring look.

"You are not as you once were," Illyria finally said after a minute.

"By all accounts," Thor retorted, "neither are you."

Illyria nodded.

"The Nox were alerted to a breach in the Deeper Well. After a few days, when no signs indicated one of your kind was loose on the world, the matter was not given a high priority for investigation. You have been on this world for several years now, yet you've kept your presence minimal. However, you still possess the power to cause great destruction. What is it that you intend, God-King of the Primordium?"

Illyria studied the Asgard but said nothing.

"Is it your intention to release your brethren?" Thor tried again.

"No," came the immediate reply.

It was Thor's turn to consider the other being's spoken and unspoken words. "Your kind does not tolerate weakness well."

"They would kill me," Illyria agreed with a calm certainty.

Daniel thought the Asgard looked tense, something which Daniel found entire discomforting.

Illyria was silent again.

"It is not only for myself and the Asgard that I ask, Old One. It is...difficult to rouse the Nox and the Furlings, but they will come if they must."

Daniel saw Buffy and Faith making "stop it!" gestures at Thor, but they were lost on the Asgard. Daniel didn't understand why until he saw the metal table crumple under one of Illyria's hands.

"You would threaten me, Asgard? There are no others of my kind you can convince to betray me. There are no more ready to fight and die for your alliance. And the power of the _Great Four Races_ is no more," she sneered at the mention of the four races and continued without taking a breath, "and _you_, Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet, threaten _me!"_

"I have asked what you intend and you will not answer. Is that not a threat in itself? The others will believe it so."

The room felt cold and suffocating in the face of Illyria's anger, but to his credit, Thor did not retreat from it.

"I think your people must have have forgotten much about my kind if you think that an Old One can be trifled with so indiscriminately. You have clearly forgotten what even _one_ of my kind is capable of." Illyria smiled. "Was it not Azogg-Mon who destroyed the reptiles that preceded the Alteran's arrival to this world simply because he felt they mocked his appearance? Was it not Vrill who created the plague which first drove the Alterans away from this world? And Arsgomor who left so many of your ships shattered and littering the stars with their broken husks? Even the vampires that exist to this very day are a result of Maloker's manipulation, are they not? You presume far too much, Asgard."

Daniel opened his mouth, possibly to ask if Illyria had just said that an Old One had wiped out the dinosaurs or possibly to point out that those Old Ones she spoke of were presumably at the _height_ of their power. Faith kicked his shin, hard, and he shut his mouth with audible click.

"We have not forgotten, Illyria," Thor said, almost gently. "But you are not them and you no longer have such power."

Illyria didn't blow up like Daniel and, apparently the two Slayers expected. Instead the Old One extended her clenched fist over the table and slowly opened her hand. Several tiny objects fell from her hand to land on the tabletop. Seeds, Daniel realized, three small seeds.

Seeds that began rocking violently before they cracked, releasing tiny green stems which grew and grew until they were at east six inches high. Several small leaves began to unfurl and the tip on all three plants blossomed to reveal themselves as daisies. The whole process took place in just a few brief moments.

"I have lost much power," Illyria agreed, gathering the three flowers to her chest. "And I am not my brethren. But my power is not inconsiderable and that power stems from deep roots. Roots that continue to replenish me. I do not know what I intend, Thor of the Asgard, but the infection of humanity within me has created certain...limitations."

Illyria stood and approached Thor, but stopped when she stood directly behind Faith. The brunette had gone pale at the Illyria's display of power. So had Buffy, Danoel noticed. Illyria had evidently been keeping secrets from all of them. Faith twitched when Illyria's hand settled onto her shoulder. "This one," Illyria announced, "will be my guide. Where she goes, I go."

Faith's pale complexion turned ashen and a loud groan escaped her lips.

"I believe you are well aware that Faith Lehane intends to go off-world in the near future to work with the humans. It is your desire to do likewise then?" Thor asked.

"This world is no longer mine," she replied in answer. "The humans that crawl on it abuse it to the point of self-destruction. I wish more for myself than to be a tool to be wielded against the lesser half-breeds that similarly litter this world." Illyria released Faith and came closer to Thor, who didn't seem pleased at the prospect of being closer to the demon. "I strive for something greater."

The Old One stopped and extended the hand that held the daisies and said in an almost whimsical tone, "this type of flower was the shell's favorite."

Thor slowly accepted the flowers in the awkward silence that followed.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Before anyone says _anything_, I want you to know that my opening sequence next chapter will go over a lot of the material that was laid out at the end here. I know I just messed with a lot of canon and I'm going to do my best to explain it later in these notes or in the next chapter. All of the Old Ones that Illyria named were taken from canon. I really, really want to give Illyria her best friend Pancakes.

I mentioned the "Furlings pathetic caretakers," which is a reference to the Goa'uld. All Four Races of the Great Alliance left a race to continue their legacy. The Ancients left the Humans, the Furlings the Goa'uld, and the Asgard the Solacris. Nothing, as far as I know, is known of the Nox's choice. The Solacris was a technological solution (in an unknown capacity) that backfired and resulted in crippling the Asgard. The Solacris was also blamed for creating the plague that killed most of the unascended Alterans. There is another theory that the Ancient contagion was also created or manipulated by the Ori, but to my knowledge neither theory has been confirmed

Another bit to mention as far as continuity and canon. In my story, I suggest that Tau'ri are unaware of the Alteran's true name until at least Season 9 of SG-1. They just called them the Ancients until then. This would explain Daniel's confusion at Illyria's use of the word.

The whole training bit with Faith and Buffy was my attempt at a montage. For some reason that "_Montage" _song from Team America: World Police kept playing in my head when I first started the chapter. Long's Peak is part of a mountain range that is approximately three hours away from Colorado Springs in the Rocky Mountains. It has an average temperature 20-40 degrees below that of Colorado Springs in late November.

Xander and Illyria's unseen interaction regarding a saying Illyria used was a reference to Men in Black with Will Smith and TLJ. Faith's comment about Boyd and the _Prometheus_'s XO was somewhat entertaining to me because both characters were played by the same actor. True fact.

###

Alright, so I'm going to be committing a bit of murder of the canon regarding the timeline of the Alterans/Humans/Four Great Races. Part of it is because the vast stretches of time and sequence of events makes it very difficult to fit the Old Ones in there.

Here are the timelines and the differences I've envisioned

**Canon Timeline** (according to Stargate wiki)

50-30 million BC: Alterans arrive at the Milky Way  
30-10 million BC: City ships on earth and elsewhere and the Antarctica outpost exist **(Separate source states that the Alliance of Four Great Races was established at this point when the Stargate network is still being constructed)**  
10-5 million BC: Asgard first start exploring Milky Way, the Ancient contagion kills the Alterans who don't go to the Pegasus galaxy or ascend.  
100,000 BC: First Homo sapiens who are _**not **_related to the Alterans.  
10,000-8,000 BC: Alterans come back after losing the war against the Wraith. The Alliance of Four Great Races is established. The Alterans either intermix with humans or ascend.

My biggest beef with the canon timeline is the Alliance of Four Great Races. According to the Stargate wiki, it took place when the Alterans came _back_ after getting owned by the Wraith. It makes no sense to me because the Alterans went poof like right after their return (relatively speaking). And why would they even care about an alliance at that point? So I'm going to agree on that separate source about the Alliance existing a _lot _longer ago than 10,000 BC  
On that note, I also don't like that the Alterans don't come back until 10,000 BC, it works for that canon I guess, but it won't for mine.  
I'm also not all that happy that humans weren't actually descended from the Ancients before 10,000 BC. No, we're an entirely different species that evolved into an identical form on the same planet that the Alterans had settled millions years ago. And could produce viable offspring. Yeah, just a coincidence my ass.

**My Timeline **(according to me)

20-10 million BC: Alterans move into galaxy, settle onto Dakara and Earth. Atlantis and the other city ships constructed. Stargate network erected.  
10-5 million BC: Alteran presence increases. Old Ones react. The first Slayer is created by the Alterans with the assistance of the Nox and Powers that Be. Ancient contagion released. Alterans ascend or move to the Pegasus galaxy. A small number of Ancients remain, from which the Slayer lineage descends.  
100,000 BC: Alterans return, Alliance of Four Great Races established. War with the Old Ones begins with the aid of the Slayer and the Powers that Be.  
100,000 BC - 10,000 BC: The Old Ones are slowly destroyed, entombed, or driven into other dimensions. The Alterans and the Asgard were primarily responsible for the physical efforts while the PtB, Nox and Furlings provided the method of containment (The Deeper Well).

My timeline in conjunction with BtVS canon:

*The PtB _were_ around at the same time as the Old Ones and had in fact been driven off by them. I don't believe it's a fair stretch of the imagination for them to actively assist in putting the Old Ones into the ground. I believe I read somewhere that the PtB actually were Old Ones, just ones that had a completely mindset than the others. *shrug*  
*The way I see it, the Old Ones didn't really care about the Alterans until they started getting in their way. Even then, I thought the "war" that the Old Ones would wage would be almost lazy given how much time they spent warring amongst themselves. (ie Illyria being ganked by other Old Ones even as their kind was gradually being driven from the world). On that note, I could never buy into the fact that _humans_ were responsible for pushing the Old Ones away. The Giles story says "mortal animals," which I believe does encompass the Four Great Races.  
*I liked the idea of a Vrill using the Old One equivalent of Raid bug spray to make the Alteran pests away, thus the idea that he was responsible for the creation of the plague. Let's face it, dude looks like that kind of creep.  
*I thought it made sense for the Nox to have some sort of role in the Slayer and the Deeper Well given their ability to monitor both. Plus they are obviously the most woo-woo of the Four Races. We still know nothing of the Furlings. Therefore, I'm making them the ambiguous 'helper' dudes.  
*Earth is the central battleground. This will be discussed later in greater detail.  
*I'll get into the whole Slayer lineage thing later.


	8. Wheels in Motion

**— Thor's Slayers ****—**

**Chapter Eight**

_**Wheels in Motion**_

* * *

**Chloe: **I _was_ aware of that and I didn't mean to imply that Pendergast was there, but the theft (albeit temporary one) of the United States' first interstellar battlecruiser isn't exactly a small thing and that incident took place only a few years before. It would be something he'd remember when teleporting random civvies onboard.  
**Rich: **I always thought Buffy was older as well but according to the Buffy wiki, Faith _is_ older by about a month. I think some of confusion is caused by the use of the term "older Slayer." What does that term mean? Is the older Slayer the one who is physically older, or the one who has been Slayer the longest? Buffy was the younger character but has been the Slayer for a longer period of time, thus the confusion. For the story, I've decided to make "older Slayer" apply to age.

**Author's Notes: **I performed a couple of updates on the last chapter to adding time/dates. A lot of things are gonna be happenin' in this chapter. Wasn't sure if I could/should separate it, but ultimately decided to integrate the different parts of this segment into a single chapter. There was a scene I took directly from SG:A but modified it slightly to work with the story. Enjoy!

* * *

#

**November 14th, 2005**

"Well, after yesterday everyone seems to be alive and okay. Thor said that the Asgard and the other races won't be getting involved so 'yay', right?"

Daniel shrugged helplessly. "Jack, Illyria..." the archaeologist shook his head, speechless

"Well you gonna make me play 20 questions?"

Sam was currently off-world meeting with her father and the other Tok'ra leaders while Teal'c did the same with Bra'tac and the leaders of the Jaffa rebellion. Both were working to keep the lines of communication open with each other and with Earth. The System Lords had been pushed back with Anubis's defeat, but Ba'al threatened the progress they'd made. Despite knowing they were both performing vital duties, Jack could have used them right about now.

"Jack, even _I'm_ not entirely sure how the meeting went and I was there. As you said, the desired outcome was reached, but there was a lot of subtext and background history that I'm no closer to understanding."

Jack studied him and gave him an exasperated "well get on with it" gesture.

Daniel sighed. "Well Jack, if I understood correctly, we can now state definitively what exactly happened to the dinosaurs."

"What?" Jack asked, confused by the seemingly non sequitur.

"The Old Ones happened to them," Daniel said blandly. "Illyria said their appearance was taken as mockery by _one_ of her kind."

"Huh."

"Illyria also demonstrated her ability to control plants by making daisies grow out of several seeds she'd brought with her."

At that, Jack blinked and raised his eyebrows. "Daisies?"

Daniel looked annoyed. "Compared to nuking the dinosaurs it may not be big, but the fact that Illyria seems to be regaining her powers to an unknown extent is...worrying. Perhaps even more worrying is that neither Buffy nor Faith knew."

Jack pursed his lips. "_Daisies?_"

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Yes, Jack, daisies and after proclaiming that Faith was to be her guide, Illyria presented them to Thor. Apparently, daisies were 'the shell's' favorite type of flower."

Jack stiffened. It was still hard to imagine this creature walking around in Fred's skin, but that kind of speech really hammered the point in. It was worse than the Goa'uld; with the snakes at least you knew there was a person still inside. To be fair, that could be a burden of its own in the form of presenting the scant hope that the person could one day be freed. But with Fred, with Illyria, she really was just walking in a shell, an empty vessel for her own use. "So the Blue One gave the daisies to Thor and said that they'd been Fred's favorite," Jack repeated, prompting Daniel to continue.

Daniel nodded. "Thor kinda just stared at her for a time that was incredibly awkward for all humans involved. Eventually he nodded and transported himself back to his ship."

"I don't get it," Jack said with an expression of a man trying to figure out the punchline.

"Like I said, subtext. I wasn't sure how to take that, but Buffy suggested to me later that it could be Illyria's way of saying that the 'disease of humanity' within her makes her no threat, but that's just a guess."

Jack hummed in thought for a moment before his eyes narrowed. "What did you mean about Faith now being her 'guide'?" Jack asked, remembering the brief comment.

"Illyria declared that Faith was her new guide. Where Faith goes, she goes. I think there might be something else, but I didn't ask."

Jack groaned. "You know," he said dryly, "things were going _so_ well after you guys and Thor saved my butt."

Daniel ignored him. "Thor suggested that her end goal was to leave the planet; she didn't disagree. I also gained the impression that Thor was not adverse to that possibility."

"And how does _that_ not sound like a bad idea?"

The archaeologist shrugged. "Subtext. But I think it meant that Thor and/or the other races felt Illyria was capable of the greatest amount of destruction here on Earth."

"Because of the Old Ones buried at the center of the world?" Jack inferred.

"Maybe, but I don't think so. Illyria suggested that if her kind were to actually return to the world, they would kill her for her weakness."

"Tough crowd."

"Warring with one another was the height of excitement to these beings. Might be one of the reasons they were able to be defeated or driven away."

"So...other than the buried maybe-not-quite dead Old Ones, why is Earth at the most risk?" Jack asked.

"Not entirely sure, but...I mean think about it. Earth was a hub of Ancient activity in the Milky Way. It was the planet the Slayer was created to defend and home to the Hellmouth or Hellmouths that are _portals_ to this dimension. Think about all the dimensional travel that we ourselves have experienced and about how dimensional travel seems almost common to the supernatural world. From what Faith said, most demons including the Old Ones all came from other dimensions to this one. I wonder if Earth is a sort of nexus, a place where the walls are thinnest between all dimensions. It might explain the presence of the Hellmouth or maybe the Hellmouth might be the cause of it, there's no way to determine that. It wasn't said, but I bet the Old Ones barely even noticed the Ancients till they were on Earth, and probably not even until after they'd gotten underfoot somehow."

Jack shook his head, not in denial so much as the scope of what Daniel was suggesting. "I'll leave the philosophizing on this particular subject to you, Daniel," he said graciously. "So...ass-heart man appeared to have part of his...vision confirmed. Faith wants to travel with SG-10, possibly in the company of the only other Slayer I've met. Who _also_ broke my nose." Jack groaned as he rubbed his temples, "and now the Blue One wants to join in on the action with the possible approval or encouragement of the Asgard."

"You really shouldn't call Illyria that," Daniel said mildly, "and it's Lorne, Jack, his name is Lorne." Daniel smiled at the innocent look he received. "Yeah, I'd say if things continue as they are, Lorne might have called that one pretty well."

"Just one thing," Jack said, holding up a finger for emphasis. "Now we've made the assumption that this place "far away" is off-world. Given who we're all talking about within the context of the Stargate, that seems likely. But _Lorne_ said that they might be gone for a while and you know just as I do that "being gone for a long time" isn't normal for our teams. The way I heard Faith and Buffy describe Lorne's vision, it sounded like months or more likely years, till they came back."

"Yeah, that's been on my mind too," Daniel confessed.

"Speaking of things on my mind," Jack began in a contemplative tone, "I find it interesting that Thor beamed Faith up here two years ago, cluing us into that whole...mess. Almost immediately after her arrival, the former Watcher, Wesley, is able to translate a warning message found on a different planet about the Old Ones. And now, for the first time in who knows how many ages, there is an Old One hanging around again. Tell me that's not some coincidence."

Daniel shrugged. "The Powers move in mysterious ways?"

"I had the same thought," Jack admitted before falling silent for a moment. He made a thoughtful 'hmm' sound before he spoke again,"interesting thing happened this morning before you came in for your debriefing." Jack tapped a pen against the desk, evidently deep in thought. "Weir called from the arctic wastelands to ask for your expertise. She said that your assistance would be appreciated in translating and interpreting recently gathered data about the Ancients and Atlantis."

"Another lead?" Daniel asked, perking up.

"_Maybe_, another lead. McKay seems to think so but your ability to translate gibberish is needed."

"Alright, I'll go check it out. Call you if I find anything," Daniel said, getting up. He was already on his feet when he paused. "Actually sir, I'm going to take a day or two off before I head there."

Jack waved him off.

Daniel was just walking out of his office when Jack called out, "Daniel, where is Illyria now?"

"Faith is her guide," the archaeologist replied by way of answer, and fled.

Jack digested that for a moment before he snorted. "Taking a day off, my ass."

* * *

_So, having a houseguest that is unwilling to leave and that I'm incapable of kicking them out is...awkward,_ Faith thought, staring at the Old One from across her small kitchen table. The ancient demon, now once again in the form of Fred, stared back at her. "I don't understand," Faith said at last.

Illyria cocked her head. She may have looked like Fred but she had retained her own speech and mannerisms. "It is not surprising. The muck on this world see little and understand even less. How you have come to dominate the world eludes me."

Faith heard a snort from Buffy, who was in the living room watching re-runs of the Bachelor. God help her, but Faith would rather deal with the Old One than watch _that._

Faith groaned at Illyria's less than helpful response. "Then how about this, why choose _me? _Is it just a way to get off-world?"

Illyria seemed to consider the question. "It is a factor," she acknowledged, "but not the only one."

"Illyria, please tell me so I can understand," Faith asked. "If I get it then I can probably help you more."

There was an implied "or I can stop you" that Illyria understood. For all the strangeness of the Old One, she was far better at interpreting human behavior than humans themselves. Faith watched Illyria consider her request.

"I wish to leave this world," she repeated, pausing before she continued. "Though I am regaining a measure of my former power, it will be millennia at the very least before I could do so unaided. If I destroyed those humans who protect the Stargate on this world, then the remnants of the Alliance formed ages past would come. They _would _be able to entomb me once again."

Faith's eyes widened at that. Other than then her frequent rants about her own deficiencies that stem from the fragility of the shell, Illyria would rarely admit such weaknesses to others.

"In that respect, you are the obvious solution," Illyria resumed speaking. "I hate this place that is so alien to me, that bears no resemblance to my kingdom. I hate living on a world overrun by vermin. I hate that my presence has been relegated to that of a common foot soldier with no status of my own. _I hate this place_," she finished with a hiss.

"You are a means of leaving, Faith Lehane, but I would not name you my guide for that opportunity alone." Illyria paused and tilted her head to the other side. "The shell's memories of you are few, but they were significant. You are the Chosen One of the Powers that Be, the last to be truly Called. Yet you gave yourself to the service of your enemy. By your kind's pathetic and contradictory moral standards, you committed evil acts. Yet you allowed yourself to be caged, a cage which you could have escaped from at any time. Instead, you remained. It was only when my former guide told you of Angelus's return that you allowed yourself to be unburdened of your shackles. He was a _vampire_, one who you've attempted to kill before and yet you endangered your life in order to capture him so that you could help him regain his soul."

Faith had grown steadily stiffer as the Old One stirred memories best left alone. She noticed at the back of her mind that the sound on the TV had become muted. She clenched her fists but said nothing to interrupt Illyria.

"You are interesting," Illyria finally said, "far more interesting than most of the others I've allowed myself to associate with."

"Not even Angel or Spike?"

Illyria looked like she wanted to roll her eyes, but such behavior would be unbecoming of a God-King, Faith understood. "Angel is a Champion and offers a perspective gained after hundreds of years, soulless and ensouled. However his sense of guilt is so pervading that spending a great of time with him can be grating. Spike would be by far the more preferable choice, yet he can offer me little."

Faith nodded slowly. Illyria could be counted on to be ruthless, calculating, and brutal, but she was rarely duplicitous. "_If_ I'm goin' somewhere and you intend to come with me, there will have to be compromises."

Buffy's voice rang out from the living room. "If _we're _going, Faith, and if you intend to come with _us, _Illyria," she corrected.

Illyria didn't acknowledge the interruption, instead she curled her lip. "You would have me remain in this form and act as the shell, to conceal myself from the vermin as I have done in the past?"

"Yes."

"Implied also is my restraint in dealing with our associates should they mock me. It is agreed then. However, do not forget your place, Slayer. You are my guide; you hold no power over me except for that which I allow. Do not forget who or what I am underneath the shell," Illyria warned in a voice as cold as ice.

"Illyria, I don't know how _anyone_ could forget you," Faith said sincerely. She then began drawing little circles in the grain of the wood as she considered how to broach the next subject.

"There is something else?" Illyria asked.

"DJ, that is Dr. Jackson, would like to come over and ask you some questions."

"The one who has spent time with the Alterans, why?"

"He's an archaeologist and a linguist, he studies history and languages. You just dropped a lot of info. on him yesterday and he'd really like to understand some of the things you said," Faith answered.

Illyria sat motionless, unblinking, until after a few seconds she nodded her assent.

* * *

**November 16th, 2005**

"Lt. Colonel Carter! Welcome home!"

Sam looked up into the control room that overlooked the Gate room. Waving at her through a window was Col—_General_ O'Neill. She offered him a two fingered salute and headed down the ramp, hearing the Stargate deactivate behind her. She adjusted her pack and headed towards the showers. She had a debriefing ahead of her and it wouldn't do to be anything less than perfectly presentable for 'The Man'.

#

"General." Sam saluted smartly.

Jack glared at her. "Sit down, _Carter._"

Sam smiled as she did as he asked.

"So...how are the folks?" Jack drawled.

"In a word, sir, frustrated," Sam said with a frown. "The fragmentation of the alliance between the Tok'ra and the Jaffa rebels grates on Dad, especially as news of Ba'als victories are still trickling in. We know _what _needs to be done but no one between Earth, the Tok'ra, and the Jaffa can agree _how_."

"So...frustrating," O'Neill said, as if imparting some great wisdom.

"Frustrating," Sam agreed. "Maybe Teal'c was more successful, is he back yet?"

Jack shook his head. "Nope. It's been pretty lonely here."

It was said with such a morose expression that Sam was willing to take the bait. "Lonely, _General_, in your own base? Okay, I'll bite. Since he evidently survived Illyria, where is Daniel?"

Jack's face turned almost gleeful in an instant. "Well, Carter, he just went back to Antarctica, doing nerd stuff with Weir and McKay. But you're asking the wrong question. You're supposed to be asking 'Where _was _he?'." Jack looked at her expectantly.

Sam rolled her eyes and parroted him. "Where _was _he?"

Jack wore a beatific smile. "He's been a busy boy, Carter, and you know he observed the meeting between Thor and Illyria. Well thanks to his efforts, undertaken with considerable danger to life and limb, we now know what killed the dinosaurs off."

Sam was confused and spoke slowly, as if to an idiot, "we already knew, General, there's a crater in the Yucatan peninsula that reflects an object hitting the Earth with sufficient mass and speed to have caused an extinction level event more than 65 million years ago." Jacks eyes had begun to glaze over by the time she was almost finished. She glared at him.

"No, Carter, that's the _how, _not the _what_." Jack once again looked at her expectantly.

Sam furrowed her brows trying to follow Jack's line of thought.

"Illyria told Thor and Daniel that one of her kind did so because he felt mocked by their appearance."

"He felt mocked and—he, what, summoned an asteroid?" Sam asked incredulously, mind spinning as she tried to understand what she had just been told.

Jack shrugged and held out both hands, waggling his fingers. "It's m-a-a-agic."

"How did that even come up?" Sam asked.

"Daniel described it as part of a series of threats, intimidation, posturing, and brinkmanship. Kinda like every conversation with the Goa'uld ever but with the scary level amped up," Jack answered.

"Anything else?" she asked, suddenly feeling tired.

"Illyria revealed, and Thor didn't deny it, that it was also the Old Ones, one of them, who released the plague that sent the Ancients to the Pegasus galaxy."

"Well, all that may explain why the Asgard and the Nox were willing to move, and why the Furlings would come out of wherever they are," Sam said, shaking her head.

"And, we learned that the name of the Ancients' race was not, in fact, the Ancients," Jack said.

"Truly, you are the very font of wisdom," Sam said dryly.

Jack looked aggrieved at her remark. "As it turns out, Illyria said that they were originally called the 'Alterans'. Daniel had said that Illyria told him that he 'stank' of the Alterans and thought it a reference to being ascended. Guess he was right though personally, I always thought it was the smell of nerd but, hey, not judging. She's also regaining her powers, Carter. At an unknown speed and to an unknown extent. Illyria has also claimed our favorite brunette Slayer as a guide and is now living with her."

"So now Faith, Buffy, and Illyria are all under the same roof? Looks like Lorne might be on target," Sam said, nodding.

"Faith is more than ready to go through a Stargate, hell she's probably been ready for a while now. How how the hell am I going to get _anyone_ to allow Buffy and an Old One in disguise to go with them?" Jack asked.

"Might not be as bad as you think, sir. Buffy's had a high security clearance for a long time and we both know that she'll ace any of the physical requirements. If Faith is still working with her, then she'll be up to speed even faster." Sam hesitated. "As for Illyria, well we both know how gifted Fred was; her skillset had already caught our recruiters' attention when she was at UCLA. There are few out there who could've match her intellect. Illyria contains all of that knowledge, General, and all that she knows from her own experiences. Don't send Illyria through, send Fred. I doubt anyone would object to having Winifred Burkle on hand as a science member on their team."

"You've been thinking about this a lot, haven't you?"

"Yes, sir, it's a complicated mess and if Faith is going who knows where, there are few who could keep her safer than Buffy and Illyria," Same answered softly.

Jack leaned back in his chair, watching the emotions play over Sam's face. "I didn't know you'd become such good friends while I was gone."

Sam's face went pink.

Jack's eyebrows shot up. "Sa-a-a-m?" he wheedled. She said nothing, but Jack watched her face turn from pink to red. "Well?"

"Ah, General, I'm not sure if it's appropriate—"

Jack's glare silence her.

Sam took a deep breath. "Faith and I were...lovers for several months."

Jack blinked. "Really?"

Sam nodded.

"With _Faith_?"

Sam sighed.

Jack whistled and was quiet for a moment while Sam squirmed. "So..."he hesitated briefly than continued in a rush, "since when have you been into...you know?" Jack waved his hands in a way that was meant to articulate his point.

"Jack..." a warning tone in Sam's voice.

"Shutting up."

* * *

**One week later...  
November 23rd, 2005**

Jack sighed when his office phone rang. He had an _office phone_. _Ugh_. "General O'Neill."

"Jack! Just the man I wanted to speak to." Daniel's voice echoed out of the receiver.

"How did you know my number?" Jack asked, irritated, "_I _don't even know my number."

"You really should read the paperwork they give you," Daniel said, sounding amused.

Jack glared at the phone, the effect lost on the archaeologist standing close to 10,000 miles away. "What did you need Daniel? I have a busy schedule today."

"I'm sure you can push your busy schedule to another time, Jack. I need you to come down to Antarctica."

Jack paused and furrowed his brow. "Why would I want to do that?"

"Because I'm fairly confident that we may have just figured out how to get to Atlantis."

A thrill of excitement ran through Jack as he thought furiously. The hope of actually discovering the lost city of the Ancients had been dwindling as they ran into dead end after dead end. "You're serious? You're confident this will pan out?"

"As confident as I can be, Jack. I need you to come down here for a meeting with Weir, McKay, and myself."

Jack nodded to himself and made a note to ask his secretary—did he even _have_ a secretary?—to clear his schedule for the next few days while he rediscovered his hatred for cold, snow, and everything Antarctica. He thought of a personnel file he'd come across the other day and came to a decision, _well at least I'll have good company, Major Sheppard seems like he'll be a fun travel buddy._

"Alright Daniel, I'll get there when I can and let you know when I make it to McMurdo."

"Sounds good, I gotta go, McKay is making amusing 'come here' gestures."

"See you—hey Daniel, wait a sec."

"Yeah?"

"Did you know that Sam and Faith were...involved?"

There was a moment of silence. "Yes. Neither said anything, but Faith does subtlety kind of like you do patience."

"I resent that," Jack said primly.

"I'll see you soon, Jack."

"Soon," Jack promised and hung the phone up with a sigh. "_Faith?" _he murmured, shaking his head. He looked at his schedule, his very blank schedule. There wasn't even an SG team that was due back anytime soon. He looked at his watch and made a decision.

* * *

"Help," Faith prompted, holding a card.

Buffy searched her mind for the answer, her foot tapping on the carpet surface while she sat on the sofa. "I know this one, it's—"

"Asordo."

Buffy and Faith turned to glare at Illyria who staring at the TV. The TV that wasn't on.

"Illyria," Faith began... "We know _you_ know the language, but Buffy needs to know at least some of the Ancient language, too."

Illyria didn't look away though she did scoff at the use of the word "Ancient." Still looking at the TV, the Old One asked, "do you possess Crash Bandicoot?"

If Buffy looked confused, Faith was incredulous. "You play...Crash Bandicoot?" the brunette asked.

"It was inane, an utter waste of time, yet I found it compelling. It provided...distraction while in the company of the former Guardian of the Deeper Well; his presence was not intolerable."

Buffy was clearly about to ask what the hell they were even talking about when the doorbell rang. Faith gave the blonde a shrug and went to the door, leaving Buffy to deal with...whatever that had been.

Faith looked through the peephole of the apartment door and felt her eyebrows rise. She stepped away and opened the door.

"Jack! How are you?" she paused. "How's your nose?"

He gave her a dirty look. "It'll be fine soon. I'm doing okay, though that won't last long."

"Why?" Faith asked, nose scrunched up in concern.

"Daniel asked me to go to Antarctica, apparently there's a lead on Atlantis's whereabouts."

"Ah," Faith murmured as a thought occurred to her. "Jack...if we _did _find Atlantis and we if sent people there...you'd consider that to be a long term project, right?"

"Yes..." Jack drawled out, then paused. "Think you might be interested in a trip to Atlantis?"

"Maybe," Faith shrugged, "but it makes more sense than the other theories that I've come up. Not particularly anxious to try what SG-10 did in order to be gone for a while."

"Reasonable," Jack acknowledged.

Faith saw Jack trying to peek around her and smiled inwardly. "Something you want Jack?"

"Ah, two things. You have company?"

"In the living room," Faith affirmed.

"So I've been meaning to ask," Jack stopped and considered his angle of approach. "You and Sam?"

Faith actually looked a little embarrassed about it, rubbing the back of her head. "Look Jack, there's not a lot to talk about. It was a while back and it wasn't serious." Faith paused and looked Jack in the eye. "Look, she was torn up about losing you. Losing _you_, Jack. And who was she going to talk to? Teal'c? Ha. Daniel? Far too much potential for awkwardness. So we talked and then we did more than talk. But it started because she lost _you._ You better do something about that, Jack, or it'll be some other schmuck, cause she ain't gonna wait forever on your old ass."

"I am not old!" Jack protested.

"How is _that_ what you latched onto from everything I just said!" Faith retorted.

Jack looked abashed. "How did you get so good at this?"

Faith rolled her eyes. "I'm apparently the new Dr. Phil."

They both looked to see Buffy walk into the kitchen. "Hey Jack...nose okay?"

"Fine," he said a little curtly.

"So, we okay?" Faith asked.

"You mean am I going to attack you in a fit of jealous rage?" Jack asked dryly. "Yeah, kid, we're good."

"Okay, so you better head off to go see Daniel, right?" Faith asked slowly moving forward, trying to keep him from entering deeper into apartment.

"Remember I said two things? Come on, nobody wants me to meet her! What's the worst that could hap—mph!"

"_You," _Faith hissed, "really want to ask _that? You?!"_

Jack opened his mouth and then closed it. "Fine. What's she doing in there anyways? I don't hear any sounds of destruction, mayhem, or anything else that might indicate the end is nigh."

"Illyria is watching the TV," Buffy said blandly.

Jack gave her a quizzical look.

"Buffy means that she's literally just watching the TV, which isn't on. I think she's feeling nostalgic, she played Crash Bandicoot once and was hoping to play it again," Faith elaborated.

Jack snorted and was about to say something when he paused. "Which one?"

"Which one what?" Faith asked.

"Which Crash Bandicoot?"

They both just stared at him.

"I'm _not_ that old, I can play Playstation, too!"

Buffy started chuckling, although it sounded closer to a giggle to Jack's ear.

"You need to leave. Get out or I'll _let_ you make that offer to her and laugh when she hurts you," Faith said, the smile belying any threat.

"Fine, fine, leaving. Want me to pass anything on to Daniel?"

"Nah, now go have fun in the freezing cold!"

Jack grimaced. He _really_ hated Antarctica.

* * *

**November 26th, 2005**

"Kinda like it here," Major John Sheppard commented.

"You like it here?" Jack asked, the tone that of a man talking to a possibly deranged lunatic.

"Yes, sir. Be there in about 10 minutes, sir."

_Daniel, if this turns out to be a waste of my time, I'm going to remind you of your high school days and stuff you into a locker,_ Jack inwardly groused.

#

"I've heard the Alterans packed up their entire city and left somewhere between five and ten million years ago," Daniel lectured his audience of three. Dr. Weir and Rodney McKay were both with him as they presented their findings towards General O'Neill.

"In their...flying city?" Jack asked dubiously.

"Yes," Daniel confirmed.

Jack gave Daniel a brief head shake and odd smile.

"What?" Daniel asked?

"_Flying..._city?"Jack repeated, his face the very expression of incredulity.

Weir crossed her arms in exasperation.

"Uh...well, Keep in mind this is the race that built the Stargates. They did everything big," Daniel said.

"I'm sorry, I think I missed something. What did you call them?" Weir asked.

Daniel exchanged a look with Jack. "Alterans. We've recently, very recently, discovered that to be the name of their race or an older name for them, by any rate," Daniel said.

"Why was this not brought to anyone else's attention?" the woman asked once again with an edge of annoyance in her tone.

"Like he said," Jack said, "_very_ recently. Moving on." He gave the physicist and diplomat a look to emphasize his words.

"So, why'd they leave?" McKay asked.

"Why'd they leave? Um, again, very recently," Daniel said, grimacing at the annoyed expressions McKay and Weir had, "we know the Alterans on Earth were suffering from a plague. And, maybe some were trying to start over seeding life in a new galaxy. Maybe that's what Alterans do. But the point is we know where they _went_."

"Pegasus." Jack stated.

"Yes, it's the name of a dwarf galaxy in the local group." Daniel scratched at his neck as he answered.

"After all the time is there any hope of actually meeting them?" Rodney asked.

"Well...who knows? But isn't that reason enough to go?" Daniel replied.

"Well I've been choosing members for this expedition for months, Doctor, I'm not the one who needs convincing," Weir said, smiling at O'Neill.

"Well I'm convinced," Jack said, "have fun."

Daniel fidgeted slightly. "Well, it's, uh, it's a little more complicated than that."

"We need the ZedPM to power the Gate."

"What?" Jack asked, confused.

"ZPM. He's uh...he's Canadian," Daniel explained.

Jack considered the man for a moment. "I'm sorry."

"Jack, you know that gating to another galaxy requires an enormous amount of power," Daniel explained.

"Yes, I do. Find another way." Jack's tone was far more serious than it had been since he'd arrived.

"There's no other way," Daniel said quickly, looking irritated.

Weir and McKay just looked between them, waiting.

"You think there are more of these...Zed things in Atlantis?" Jack asked.

"Yes. And who knows what else we could find, this isn't just some other civilization we're talking about. These are the Gate_builders_."

"The potential wealth of knowledge and technology, it outweighs anything we've come across since we stepped through the Stargate," Weir added.

"Well, with the amount of power you'll need to make this trek, odds are it'll be one way," Jack warned.

Daniel shot Jack a look. Aside to Weir and McKay, he said, "you know that I agree with you, that we should do this. But Jack _is _right. The expedition could be a long way from home for a long time if things don't work out."

"Yes we know. But the benefit to humanity is far greater than the risk, Dr. Jackson, General, and it is a risk that every one of my expedition members is willing to take."

McKay looked a little less confident, but he didn't object.

Jack nodded at Daniel. _Message received._

"Alright, Dr. Weir. I'll be in touch with you about a timetable for assembling and launching the expedition from the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Give me a call when you make it back to Colorado Springs, I have a few people that you might be interested in having as part of your expedition," Jack said, standing up and stretching an arm out.

Weir gave him an odd look. "Of course, we're still looking for more researchers, scientists, linguists, skilled individuals in all fields. As you say, this might be one way so I'm doing my best to make sure all our bases are covered."

Jack and Daniel winced simultaneously. While McKay had zoned out and was looking over more of their collected data, Weir definitely noticed. She raised an eyebrow. "General?"

"Several young women who have entered our lives in one way or another. Two of them...well they're more likely to make good field personnel. The other one is a gifted physicist, she can give Sam a run for her money, in fact," Daniel said, inwardly wincing at using the present tense for describing Fred.

"Three young women?" Weir said, the odd look back on her face. "Sure, I'll be happy to meet them."

A Scottish voice shouted out, interrupting them. "Dr. Weir! Dr. Weir!"

"What is it, Dr. Beckett?" Weir asked, striding towards the man who wore a panicked expression.

Jack took the opportunity to rise from his seat and stand next to Daniel while Weir dragged the story from the interrupting visitor. "How long do you'll think it'll take Weir to have everything ready?" Jack asked quietly.

"She was telling the truth earlier, she's been working on this for months. If everything goes as planned, I'd be astonished if she's not standing in Atlantis drinking champagne within three weeks."

Jack nodded. "Guess I should probably let our girls know then. I know Buffy has people she'll want to talk to, to say goodbye to. That's _if _she and Faith even _want_ to do this."

Daniel gave him a dry look, "You think they won't?"

Jack shrugged. "Faith...and Illyria will. Didn't get much of an impression of Buffy except for the one she gave me on the nose."

Daniel smirked, "You've been waiting to use that one, haven't you?"

Jack just smiled. "I'll tell them the moment I get back." He paused, "we're spending an awful lot of resources on this research and expedition and now we're talking about sending a former...god thing with a short temper along. Is it just me who thinks that's a bad idea?"

Daniel didn't answer.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** There is nothing in the BtVS canon that shows any link between the demons and dinosaurs to my knowledge other than an occasional resemblance. Azogg-mon _was_ an Old One in BtVS canon and (from the few pictures there are of him) kinda resembled a T-Rex. That's the source of my idea, that and the quote described below.

That idea was also accompanied by another quote taken from the _Others _series by Anne Bishop. In that series, the Others are primal beings that range from vampires, shifters, elementals, to the more strange and undefinable. There was a conversation in one of the books where a character asks the rhetorical question "What happened to the dinosaurs?" to which he supplies his own answer "The Others happened to them." Amazing series, go read it.

And that should wrap up the Faith/Sam discussions. Minimal/no drama, just as promised.

My using Zed for ZedPM, is just to reflect the pronunciation, nothing else. Zed is the British English pronunciation of "Z." So it's spelled "ZPM" but pronounced "ZED-PEE-EM"


	9. So Long, Farewell

**— Thor's Slayers ****—**

**Chapter Nine**

_**So Long, Farewell**_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Once again, breaking my record for longest chapter. Woo. This chapter is going to be _long_. I'm going to be giving you a lot of information as well as including the goodbyes for the various parties (should be obvious by the chapter title). There's a lot of build up, and a lot of _little_ things which I felt had to be included prior to the actual 'cya laters' which is the main cause for the chapter's length. In essence, this chapter's purpose is to tie up some/most of the loose ends.

Just throwing it out there, I've noticed the capitalization of Ascended B/being and the O/others as extremely unconsistent. I went ahead and capitalized the Others, but left the Being part as being.

I plan on there being only one last chapter of this part of the story and am currently debating on where to take the third part, but have no fear, I will not abandon the story. In fact, I've already written the first two chapters, the second of which I had a _lot_ of fun writing. As a disclaimer, you should expect far more action in the third part.

It's very likely that I'll be posting chapter ten, the final chapter of this part of the story, as early as tomorrow but definitely within the next three days.

* * *

#

**November 29th, 2005**

"Atlantis?" Buffy asked dumbly.

"Atlantis," Jack repeated, a smile spreading across his face.

"Atlantis," Buffy said, though the statement still sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Atlantis," Faith affirmed on behalf of Jack, though she was still a little more than stunned herself.

"You're offering me the chance to go to..._Atlantis_?" Buffy asked, attempting to determine the extent of her newly discovered mental instability.

"Cease your pointless bleating, he was clear in his invitation, though the presentation was overly effuse."

_Ah, not insane then_, Buffy thought. "Thank you for setting that straight, Illyria."

"Your gratitude is meaningless."

The humans shared a collective wince, though there might have been a hint of a smirk on Jack's face.

"Yeah, I can't imagine how this might not go wrong," Faith muttered, eyeing the Old One. "So, what's the catch?"

"A few of them," Jack admitted. "Faith, were you ever tested for the ATA gene?"

Faith shook her head. "Not that I know of, you'd have to check Frasier's records."

Jacks face tightened, "I'll check with Brightman, but we'll need the both of you—" Jack paused, seeing Illyria's posture shift, "—all three of you to go take the Chair test. Illyria, is it even possible for you to even operate Alteran technology?"

Illyria considered the question. "I do not know, though now that I wear the shell of your kind, it may be possible, however my lack of recognizable vital signs is likely to disallow such an opportunity."

Faith didn't bother to conceal her grimace, about being in the Old One's company, about the return trip to the Antarctic, or about the possibility of Illyria being able to use Ancient technology. From Jack's expression, he had the same thought.

"What kind of jeans do I need?" Buffy asked, confused.

Jack stared at her, then at Faith who just smiled blandly. "Fill her in," he commanded. "I have to go ride herd on a bunch of scientists and military personnel." He stood up from the leather chair in Faith's living room. "That's the other catch," he said softly. "There's a few military hardasses that are part of the expedition. The leader of that military contingent is one such individual. Colonel Sumner is a good man, a good leader, and a damn good fighter, but he is a man set in his ways. You'll have to fight for your place if you want to work in the field with him and his men"

"Been there, done that," the blonde Slayer said, buffing her nails on her shirt. "Initiative," she explained at Jack's curious look.

The general shook his head. "We'll talk more later. Buffy, you have two weeks to say your goodbyes or to change your mind."

Buffy bit her lip and nodded.

"Be in touch," he said again as he left the three women in Faith's apartment.

#

Jack had just closed the door and walked the first few steps down the stairs when he heard the door open and close behind him followed by the sound of Faith's voice calling his name. He turned to see her catching up to him, shrugging on a leather jacket as she walked down the steps to meet him.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," Faith answered, "but Buffy is going a little stir crazy. Nothing to slay or dismember and all that."

Jack snorted. "And people say that _my_ life is whacked. Better make sure she knows that Pegasus might be a snoozefest; can't imagine vampires will be much of a concern."

Faith shrugged. "Probably, I'm pretty sure vamps never made it quite _that_ far," she admitted. "Then again, knowing my luck and the PtB's sense of humor, I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to make you eat those words if I see you again."

Jack glanced at her. "You seem...okay with the _if_ bit."

"I am," Faith said, following him down the last few stairs that led into the parking lot. "There'll be things I miss, people too. But not a lot. Buffy has a lot more to lose if she goes with."

"Think she'll change her mind?" Jack asked.

Faith didn't answer right away. "No," she said, though it was said with some hesitation. "But she..."

"Complicated?" Jack guessed.

Faith nodded.

They walked side by side in companionable silence for a few moments before Faith spoke again. "Any chance SG-10 is on the list of people going?"

"No," Jack replied. "They're all still willing to continue working with the SGC for some reason, but going to a different galaxy without an exit strategy..."

"Bad memories?" Faith asked.

"Not so much bad memories as the lack of them compared to everyone else," Jack corrected. He glanced at her and slowed his step. "You know, kid, you _could_ stay here. Stay here, go with SG-10, even with Buffy and Illyria...maybe. Just because some green-skinned...guy said you'd be going away doesn't mean Atlantis, or that you even have to at all!"

Faith eyed the man who looked uncomfortable at his own outburst and had shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. She reached a hand out and tugged on Jack's arm, making the man stop and look at her with a strained smile.

"Jack," she began, speaking in a soft voice. "We've known each other for two years. Well, one really considered you pulled a 'me' and went all coma-like."

He made a face.

"Sorry, not funny," Faith said, holding her hands up. "My point is that we know each other, well enough that I consider us friends, despite the massive beauty and age imbalance we're working with."

"I am _not_ old!"

"Jack, I'm almost 25, which is getting close to a decade past my life expectancy as a Slayer. I'm not a little girl, haven't been one for a long, long time and I don't need your protection. I appreciate it, I do but it's my—"

Jack made a harsh rhythmic breathing sound and said in a deep voice, "it is your destiny! Join me, and together, we can rule the galaxy—"

Faith shoved Jack lightly. "You need to stop watching movies with Teal'c," Faith interrupted, smiling at Jack's successful attempt at levity.

Jack smiled with her. "You gonna tell them?"

Faith scrunched her nose up. "SG-10? About me?" Faith considered it and eventually shrugged. "I'll tell them when I get back. Probably ain't the best thing to drop _that_ bomb on their heads and leave them to fend for themselves."

Jack nodded. "My grill is open if you want a proper send-off."

Faith smiled at him. "Yeah, think I'd like that."

They looked at each other.

"Alright, moment over," Faith announced.

"Oh thank god," Jack breathed out in relief.

"Later bro."

Jack waved his own goodbye as he hopped into his dark green pickup and drove off.

Faith watched Jack's truck slowly disappeared from view, wrapping her arms around herself as she felt a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the temperature. _Did_ she want to leave all of this behind? She'd made a home for herself here, complete with home, friends, and even a family of sorts. The horrors of her childhood and those faced as a Slayer had been replaced with the wonder the stars might show her. _Could_ she leave this behind in pursuit of the unknown?

_Are you ready to be strong?_

Faith closed her eyes. "Yes."

Opening her eyes again, she began the trek back up to her apartment, to Illyria, and to Buffy.

* * *

**Three days later...  
December 2nd, 2005**

"That's a lot of crap," Jack observed conversationally, looking at all the equipment slowly accumulating within the SGC. It was piled up against the walls, in corners and Jack figured it wouldn't be the long until things were hanging from the rafters.

"It's not crap," Rodney McKay protested, "this is all incredibly valuable instruments that might prove vital to the survival and success of this expedition. It is not _crap!_"

Dr. Weir hid a smile. McKay was painfully easy to bait and it was obvious that General O'Neill delighted in doing so.

"Dr. McKay, I'm sure General O'Neill is aware of that. If you don't mind, I need to steal him for a little bit," she interrupted before they could start up again.

"You do?" O'Neill turned to give her a hangdog expression.

"You do," Weir confirmed, no longer hiding the smile. She'd been doing that a lot lately, she realized. Ever since the expedition had gone from theoretical to imminent, smiles had been coming much easier and more often.

"Very well," he sighed with an air of profound disappointment.

"No! Not there! Put that with the rest of the scanning equipment! Can't you even see that it's labeled!"

Weir and Jack both turned to see McKay berating two Airman struggling to move a large blue container.

"I can still take him outside, bring him 'round the mountain, and put him down if you're interested," Jack offered dryly.

Weir smiled. "Dr. McKay is a brilliant physicist, one we'll likely need in order to find a way home. Much like one Winifred Burkle, I believe." She noticed a barely perceptible flinch at the corners of his eyes and wondered at it.

"Ah," Jack said with great eloquence.

"While the other two I'm less sure of, Miss Burkle appears to be a perfect fit with the other members of my science team," the doctor added.

"Uh huh." The general seemed especially noncommittal. _Odd._

"But I don't understand the other two, General. I agree that the fact they both score high on the Chair Interface Aptitude range is significant, but they are both incredibly young, have no experience with the Stargates, and possess no expertise in _any_ scientific field. So why them, too?"

"You read their dossiers then?" Jack asked. Seeing the doctor's nod, he continued. "Then you know why. Colonel Sumner might not like it but I happen to outrank him. He'll give you and them hell, but they can take it. You've seen their scores on the physical tests, the firing range, and Miss Lehane has spent the better part of the last two years preparing herself for something like this _with_ SG-10." Jack decided to play his trump card. "Besides, Miss Burkle won't come without Faith."

Weir paused at that and raised an eyebrow.

"They're a package deal, all three of them. Miss Summers has the same level of proficiency on the required physical tests for field involvement as Lehane, Dr. Weir, and though she didn't work with anyone from the Stargate program, she has security clearance from her involvement in a _very_ classified operation. An operation that included small unit tactics that would be most beneficial to you.

Weir studied him for a long moment. "All of those are solid reasons, General, but there's something you're not telling me, why do you want them to go so badly?"

General O'Neill said nothing, just looked at her levelly.

"No one goes on my expedition without talking to me, General," Weir warned.

Jack nodded and gave her a piece of folded paper from his blue tactical pants. Weir opened it to find the names of all three young women, an address, and a phone number. She considered them for a moment before refolding it and putting it into her own pocket.

"Doctor."

She looked up to see the General looking at her with perhaps the most serious expression she'd ever seen on him. She raised a questioning brow.

The general opened his mouth. Close it. Grimaced. Sighed. He paused and then opened his mouth again, "Doctor these women are all...unique in their own way. You won't have to take care of them or babysit them, you just have to accept that _they'll_ be able to take care of _you_."

Weir paused at his words, remember similar ones spoken what felt like yesterday by the brown suited man with the brown fedora.

_You don't need to do anything but accept it._

"Noted, General O'Neill," she replied somewhat shakily.

* * *

The knock at the door disturbed her from her thoughts. It was soft, but not hesitant. Her guide and the other Slayer had gone into Faith's room and shut the door. They had wanted privacy, her guide had said. It was of no concern to her, though she idly wondered if their choice to accept one another as sexual partners was a result of some sort of defect. She made a mental note to ask her guide when she was present.

Illyria paused. Perhaps she would_ not_ ask; if it was a defect, she would rather they not know, for their reaction might be to find other partners and breed as a result, diminishing their value to her. It was illogical and therefore something they might be prone to do. A gestating female, Slayer or not, would not serve in the capacity she desired and she refused to encourage the seemingly endless reproduction that the muck engaged in.

Illyria was aware of the concept of sexuality in its various forms, but by choice had never given it much thought. Thinking about the disgusting process of human reproduction made her want to clean the vermin off this planet even more than usual.

The knock sounded again and Illyria donned the shell's appearance as she walked towards the door. She tilted her head and paused. Perhaps this wasn't a defect but an evolutionary adaptation as a result of overpopulation. Would she benefit if she _did_ encourage the two Slayers to breed with others of their kind in order to sow the adaptation into the greater gene pool?

Humans seemed to take such umbrage when conversation centered around their more vile biological habits. She would ask her guide and hope that this new development would continue.

The knock sounded again. Louder and no less hesitant.

She heard her guide and her...she considered this as her two female companions scrambled to ready themselves for a guest. Was Buffy to be Faith's _mate?_ How can one be a mate if there is no biological drive to reproduce? Was their status affected by the defect or adaptation? Every now and then, humans seemed overly complex for the stunted primitives they were.

Illyria opened the door to reveal a slightly older looking woman with brown hair. She was slim, approximately the same height as the shell. She had her clenched fist in the air and Illyria considered whether this was some pathetic form of attack. However the matter was resolved when the door had fully opened, as the woman brought her fist back to rest at her side. Not an attack then, or perhaps the female was merely craven.

#

"Hi there, how can I help you?"

Elizabeth Weir smiled at the woman who answered the door. It seemed fortuitous that it was Miss Burkle who opened the door, a person she felt like she'd be better able to relate to than either Miss Summers or Miss Lehane. "Hello Miss Burkle, I'm Dr. Elizabeth Weir. I was hoping to have a few moments of your time? Of your two friends as well?"

"May I ask what this is all about?"

Elizabeth smiled warmly. "I'm led to understand that the three of you are aware of the SGC and the nature of the missions it oversees?"

"Ah, of course, why don't you just come on in and take a seat. Hopefully Buffy and Faith are finished, they'll be just delighted to see you."

"Of course, may I ask what they're doing?" Elizabeth asked, hearing only silence in the apartment.

"Well, they'll be coming in here in a jiffy," the smiling girl said. Winifred Burkle seemed charming, wearing a red blouse and denim jeans with just a hint of tasteful make-up. "Dr. Weir do you mind if I ask you a question?"

At Miss Burkle's direction, Weir took a seat at the kitchen table and nodded.

"Well, I was just curious, you see," Miss Burkle said, looking abashed, "but if two members of the same gender were to, um, engage in sexual congress, do you feel that it would be a defect or an evolutionary adaptation?"

Weir's eyes went wide at the question and even wider when the apartment's other occupants entered the room looking flushed and...well like they'd been engaging in "sexual congress."

"Nevermind," Miss Burkle said with an innocent expression.

"Hey, um, who are you?"

The question came from the brunette, Faith Lehane, who by all rights should be in prison but for the inexplicable pardon she'd received. Her companion would have to be one "Buffy" Elizabeth Anne Summers, former murder suspect and asylum resident. Elizabeth stood up and extended a hand. "Miss Lehane, Summers, I'm Dr. Elizabeth Weir, head of the Atlantis expedition."

_That_ got all three women's attention.

"Ah, hello, please call me Faith." The brunette shook her hand and sat next to Miss Burkle.

"And Buffy for me," the blonde said with a bright, sunny smile.

"And please, call me Fred," the physicist said with a sweet smile, "Winifred isn't exactly the most charming name."

"Very well," Weir acknowledged with a nod. "Now, I'm led to believe you three are all acquaintances of General O'Neill at Stargate Command." At their nods, she continued, "he has suggested that each of you have unique talents that would be suited for my expedition. Beyond Miss B—sorry, beyond Fred's talents, I'm not entirely sure what he means, though your results in any of the standard physical and weapons tests are beyond outstanding and the fact that the two of you tested positive for the chair test presents another benefit. But what you offer would be best suited for the field and that is something that Colonel Sumner will have to approve of."

"We're aware of that, Dr. Weir. As you said, Fred's knowledge speaks for itself, and I'm sure you're aware that she too was able to pass all of the other qualifications to be considered for the expedition as well," Faith started.

"But Faith and I are both skilled with hand to hand weapons and tactics. Both of us would be considered master marksman with a variety of firearms, more Faith than me, but I've also had some experience in small units in the past with the military, ones that might be somewhat similar to your own field teams," Buffy finished.

"General O'Neill mentioned it, but I never received any further information about it," Weir said frowning.

"Classified," Faith and Buffy said simultaneously.

"I was led to believe that my clearance level is about as high as it gets," Weir said, visibly annoyed.

"You can verify my activity with Major Davis at the Pentagon or with General O'Neill," Buffy said. "They may not tell you the details, but they'll confirm my statement."

Weir sat back and observed all three. "General O'Neill is really pushing for you three to go and everything that I've been hearing supports his decision to do so. However, O'Neill as much as admitted that there were things he wasn't telling me and I get the same feeling from you. I need to know if whatever that information is that it won't endanger the success of the expedition or the safety of the people involved."

The three women exchanged looks. "We can be an asset, Dr. Weir, if you allow us to be," Faith finally said.

Weir grimaced at the non-answer. "Miss Summer, I'll check on your claim regarding your history and get back to you. If it checks out, I'll get back to you for a confirmation. Fred, you've already been cleared to join the expedition."

Weir looked levelly into Faith's eyes. "You pleaded guilty to murder, Miss Lehane. You served several years in prison after turning yourself in before you broke out and disappeared. You were then pardoned, while you were still a fugitive."

Faith's breath hitched, "Yes, Dr. Weir."

Weir gave her a long look. "Want to tell me how you worked that deal?"

Faith shrugged a shoulder. "My lawyers were supernaturally gifted?" she suggested. "I wasn't there for the deal, Dr. Weir, I don't know how it came together, but Wolfram & Hart worked it out."

"Ah, yes, the law firm that has since been destroyed. _Destroyed,_" Weir said with a raised eyebrow. "May I ask where you went after you escaped? I don't believe I received that information."

"I don't think it was on any report, though Ja—General O'Neill knows," Faith answered. "I was in LA for a couple days before I ended up in Sunnydale."

"Ah, the city turned sinkhole. I believe it was about the time of your escape that the disaster actually occurred, if I'm not mistaken."

Faith didn't answer, just gave Weir the same regard she was receiving.

"I lived in Sunnydale, Doctor, and I can promise you that Faith was _not_ responsible for destroying the city," Buffy interjected dryly.

"Of course, I didn't mean to imply that. There are a lot of gaps in all three of your records, I'm just trying to understand," Weir said, sounding embarrassed. "Even you Fred, when you disappeared for five years."

Fred smiled. "I understand, Dr. Weir. I was going through a tough time and I needed time for myself. A sabbatical, ya know?"

Weir looked pained at the question. "Yeah, working with the amount of squabbling scientists I am, I really do."

Weir spent a moment studying Faith. "Well, Faith, based on your performances on your physical and weapons testing, the two years you've spent working your way into the Stargate program, and with the recommendations of General Hammond, General O'Neill, Major Boyd, and Dr. Jackson, I'm giving you the go ahead as well. Don't make me regret it."

Faith nodded in reply and both she and Buffy both sighed in relief.

"Well thank you so much for this opportunity," Fred gushed. "I can't tell you just how excited I am."

Weir's smile made itself known once again. "Believe me, I know _exactly_ how excited you are."

#

"Huh."

Faith's comment hung in the air after their maybe-possibly-likely future boss left the apartment.

"So, guess I'm the weak link," Buffy said, looking nervous.

"Maybe," Faith said with a dubious tone, "but you can have the Initiative bit on your record more or less confirmed while I have a big fat escaped felon mark stamped onto mine. Even with that pardon and Jack's word, that has to be setting off some major red flags with the lady. Even if she says all three of us are in, she's going to be keeping an eye on us."

"You are both incorrect."

Buffy and Faith turned to look at a frowning Illyria.

"Why do you say that, Blue?" Faith asked.

"Cease calling me by that insulting moniker," the Old One said, though it seemed less commanding and more perfunctory than usual. "This Dr. Weir had planned on accepting all three of us even before she entered this hovel."

Faith rolled her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.

"Her posture, demeanor, and speech indicated that she was engaging in that inefficient practice of hunting aquatic prey using a rod and string." At their blank looks, she continued, "I do not understand the meaning, but Wesley seemed fond of the phrase." Illyria's voice had remained that of Illyria's, but her eyes had lost their hard edge at the mention of her former guide.

Buffy and Faith exchanged baffled looks.

"She was...fishing?" Buffy ventured.

"Obviously."

Faith huffed out a breath. "How? And what for?"

Illyria tilted her head. "Her use of General O'Neill's name, repeated queries about your past, and assertive posture were meant to draw additional information from you, but her decision had already been made. She clearly was well informed of your mundane lives and there was little reason for her to appear at your domicile unannounced unless she was attempting to deliberately put you on the defensive and thus more susceptible to revealing information she did not possess."

"Huh," Faith repeated, "Angel said you were pretty good at figuring people out."

"Humans are simpleminded creatures whose ideas of duplicity and intrigue are equally simplistic."

Buffy and Faith shared a pained smile.

"So what now?" Buffy asked.

"We wait for the doctor to call and you need to start making calls to the Scoobs," Faith replied.

Buffy looked unhappy. "Our own little Last Supper."

"Given the way the last one eventually panned out, I'd rather say one last party," Faith said, smirking. Seeing that Buffy's frown hadn't abated, she added in a softer tone, "you don't have to do this, you know." Jack's words echoed her thoughts. "Lorne doesn't always see everything, you know."

Buffy's expression wavered between determination and grief. "I think I have to. All this," she waved a hand that seemed to encompass everything, "has gotten to be too much. It's so much history and mostly of the bad kind. It's not just Dawn or Spike, not that _that_ is any fun, but everything else. Everybody else is living! Their own lives, careers, and even families! And yet I still hide indoors on my birthday and obsess over Dawn on Tuesdays. Willow has Kennedy, Angel has Cordelia, Xander has Renee, Dawn has Spike, Oz is dating that were-chick in Tibet...even _Giles_ is dating someone. I'm happy for them. I really, really am, but they all have someone, some_thing_ that makes it all worth it. And I don't!"

Buffy was breathing harshly, tears starting to well in her eyes as her voice rose in volume. "I look at them and I see their faces when they told me to leave my own house. I see them and I can feel my nails tearing from my fingers as I tore my way through my coffin and out of my grave. I see their drive, their purpose, and I feel nothing but exhaustion."

Faith opened her mouth and closed it, unsure of herself.

"You feel obsolete. You seek purpose, you seek companionship unfettered by the weight of the worst betrayals."

Illyria's comment drew a surprised look from both Slayers.

"Except I—" Faith began, but was cut off again by Illyria.

"No. Perhaps at the time, your decision to serve the Mayor and your later actions _were_ betrayals of the worst kind, however the passage of time grants you perspective and to my understanding the others were not without blame. More significant to Buffy is that you had no part in the events that hurt Buffy the most."

Faith looked to Buffy who was looking wide-eyed at Illyria before shrugging a shoulder and nodding slightly at the brunette.

"Okay then," Faith said before nudging Buffy. "And you, short and blonde, _do_ have someone. And maybe some_thing_ as well if we find ourselves on the lost city. Call the Scoobs."

Buffy smiled, wiped her eyes, kissed Faith on the cheek and left the room to make some phone calls.

Faith watched Buffy leave before turning to Illyria, who stared at her in return.

"Thank you," the Slayer said simply. Faith had expected the traditional insulting or condescending comment regarding her gratitude, but Illyria surprised her again.

"Her reasons for wishing to leave are not entirely unlike my own."

Faith waited for more, but the Old One left the room, going the short distance to sit on her couch and resume watching one of the movies Faith had deemed "acceptable." She sighed, _time to make some calls of my own._

* * *

"Hello?"

"Hey Dawnie, it's me," Buffy said into the phone, smiling at the sound of her little sister's voice.

"Buffy! Hey, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it is, but I need to talk to you and everyone else. Do you think you and Spike could be at the castle by Saturday?"

There was a moment of silence and a quiet, "Buffy?"

"Look Dawn," Buffy began, and sighed. "I know I haven't been gone that long, but while I've been with Faith...I made some choices, important ones."

"Finally getting down and dirty with our favorite reformed Slayer?"

The hope in Dawn's voice took her aback and it took a few moments for her words to register.

"_What?" _Buffy hissed, "and what do you mean _finally!?"_

Dawn snorted in amusement. "Oh please, you guys are a walking advertisement for UST."

"What?" This time the question was less outrage and confusion and more total bafflement.

"Unresolved sexual tension," Dawn explained.

Buffy felt a headache coming on. "Look Dawn, it's more than that, it's—"

"I knew it! Oh, my god, I knew it! Xander is gonna be my _bitch_ for the next month! Yes! I totally called it!"

Buffy hung up and sighed.

After almost two minutes, Dawn called back.

"Sorry," her little sister said sheepishly.

"Yeah, well. It's not just about Faith, Dawn. I'm going to be going away for a while," Buffy said, her statement ending in an almost timid whisper.

"Okay..." Dawn drew out the word, obviously expecting more than that.

"I may not be coming back."

A harsh exhalation came through the receiver. "What's this about, Buffy?"

"I need you and Spike to be at the castle by Saturday and do me a favor and give Wills the heads up, too. I'll let everyone else know. And Dawn..."

"Yeah?"

"Make sure you don't tell anyone about me leaving who doesn't already know about Faith and the Stargate."

"Oh. Um, okay." Dawn's confusion and burgeoning panic were almost audible to Buffy, and she had to shove her guilt aside to strengthen her resolve.

Buffy gave Dawn time to understand what Buffy had said and neither one of the Summers sisters spoke for what felt like hours

"Buffy?"

Dawn's voice was small, sounding unsure and scared.

"We'll talk then, Dawnie."

"Okay..."

Buffy hung up before anything else was said, before either Dawn or herself broke down hundreds of miles from each other. She wiped her eyes and took the phone into her hand once again, quickly dialing the next number on her list; it wouldn't be long till the stupid thing started blowing up with texts and calls, so she had better be quick.

* * *

**December 4th, 2005**

Daniel became suddenly aware of the fact that he wasn't where he should've been. Just a moment ago, he had been in his home in Colorado Springs and he could clearly remember changing into his pajamas and laying down on his bed. All of which made the fact that he was standing in some sort of diner, fully dressed, all the more confusing and disorienting. The diner was packed, nearly every seat taken by a diverse crowd of animated people all having loud conversations at their respective tables. However, the moment he registered their presence, they ceased speaking with one another and stared back at him with a startling intensity.

"Well, that's not creepy at all," he murmured sardonically, feeling the urge to walk out and never return. If he managed to figured out how he got here in the first place, maybe he could do just that.

They continued to stare at him.

A vaguely familiar feminine voice cut the sudden quiet with a shouted, "I'll be right with ya, hon!"

Still, the others stared at him.

Daniel noticed that a table stood directly in front of him perhaps twenty feet away. There were two unoccupied plain looking wooden chairs, one on each end. Try as he might, he saw no other open seats in the entire diner. _Subtle_, he thought. He walked towards the table, aware of the eyes that continued to track him, and sat down in one of the chairs. This was clearly going to be one of those days.

"What can I get ya?"

He looked up to see a waitress holding an open notepad ready to write his order, smiling down at him with genuine warmth. Again, he was struck by a sense of familiarity. "Um, what do you have?"

"Here?" she asked, "anything you want."

"No menus?"

"We don't need them here," the woman said, continuing to smile. "Just order what you like."

"Okay..." Daniel said slowly before nodding in decision. "Okay, I'll have the truth with a side order of clarity, please."

"I'm afraid you had quite a bad heart attack a few moments ago, so bad that your heart stopped, which is when I stepped in. How's that?"

"Pretty clear," the archaeologist acknowledged.

"We aim to please. Customer comes first, you know."

Daniel studied the older brunette in the waitress uniform, feeling that sense of familiarity again. "So, I'm ascended again," he half asked, half stated.

"Not exactly," the waitress corrected, "sort of a stop along the way."

Daniel frowned as a memory stirred in the depths of his mind. "Waffles."

"With a side of bacon?" the woman asked, scribbling on her notepad.

"No, I remember this place," Daniel said furrowing his brow in thought.

"You should. It came from _your _mind."

"I was brought here after my parents' funeral," he said, voice thick with the pain of loss the memory stirred.

"By your grandfather," the woman nodded.

"Oma Desala," Daniel stated after studying the woman for a moment, the familiarity of her finally making something click in his mind. He then shook his head to clear it. "Why am I here?"

The ascended Ancient smiled warmly at him, "Mind if I take a seat?"

Daniel nodded, gesturing to the other seat, and watched as the woman took the seat opposite him; it was all so mundane that it actually felt surreal. "Are you going to offer me the chance to ascend again?"

"Not this time, Daniel, though I'm sure I'll get back to you on that sooner or later," Oma replied.

"Forgive me if I hope it's later," Daniel chuckled. "So...the place seems packed. And very quiet. And very focused. On _me_."

"It is and they are," the Ascended being agreed.

"So...why are they so interested in me?" Daniel asked.

"In this matter, their interest in you is incidental, they are far more interested in several of your companions. One of them, to be more specific," Oma said, her demeanor now all business.

He opened his mouth to speak but she held a hand up to forestall him.

"The heart attack you suffered in your sleep," Oma began to explain, "was induced deliberately, Daniel, and was done so that I might speak with you here."

"What?" Daniel asked incredulously, utterly horrified at the idea that beings who existed on a higher plane of existence had conspired to kill him in order to have a chat.

"We needed to speak with you, Daniel, the Others and I. And so we made a deal to bring you here, just for a little while," Oma said sympathetically.

"How very cryptic," Daniel observed dryly. "I thought you Ascended beings were very big on the non-interference thing?"

Oma's lips thinned. "We are, however there is another interested party involved; they aren't...as I or the Alterans are. And unlike my kind and the Others, they enjoy dabbling in the mortal world. They are...separate from us which usually leads to little interaction with one another."

"You're saying that this other interested party gave me a heart attack and killed me, allowing you to bring me here to talk. Exactly who are these hitmen of the Ascended realm? And why couldn't you have hired them to take out Anubis?" the archaeologist asked.

Oma shook her head at his flippancy. "They are similar to us in their form of existence, but any significant degree of similarity ends there. To most, they are simply known as the Powers that Be, and it was one of their agents who was responsible for your heart attack."

"Oh."

Oma nodded.

_"Oh!"_ Daniel repeated, finally understanding the significance of what had just been revealed. "So are they here to talk to me?"

Oma shook her heard. In a voice much louder than necessary, she glanced around and said, "no, for a group that delights in manipulating people and events they seem to be unusually shy in establishing any form of direct contact." At a more normal volume, she added, "they prefer to work through their various agents and champions. They are observing us, but I am speaking on behalf of the other Ascended beings, not them."

"And the reason I'm getting the creepy stare?" Daniel asked, still the focus of the entire diner.

"They wanted to make sure you understood the gravity of the situation," Oma said, grimacing. "They aren't quite willing to talk to you, but since my hands are already dirty..." The Ancient shrugged.

"Alright," Daniel sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Alright," he repeated, "where should we start?"

"Illyria."

Daniel groaned.

"There will be consequences no matter what action is taken where the Old One is concerned. Both the Powers that Be and the Ascended beings wanted to make sure you understood the potential consequences of allowing her to join the Atlantis expedition."

"Okay..." Daniel said, motioning for her to continue with a roll of his hand.

"Illyria is at a crossroads," Oma explained, "one that could lead her to a path unlike any she or any Old One has ever taken, one that might ultimately be in the best interests of humanity and subsequently, the Powers that Be. Alternatively, she could seek to reclaim her former kingdom. Whether she succeeded or failed, there would be no small amount of bloodshed as a result.

"Bringing Illyria to Atlantis, to the Pegasus galaxy, means removing most of the influence the Powers that Be might wield against her. It would also limit the action that can be taken against her by the older, advanced races in this galaxy who still remember the Old Ones, like the Asgard. It means possibly giving her free reign within a new galaxy, with her only limitation being that of her own depleted power. But her power is _regenerating, _Daniel, and Illyria will not age. If she travels to Pegasus, she could simply travel to the nearest planet and do nothing but build her power until she was strong enough to pursue her agenda, whatever it may be.

"The people you see at this diner are Ascended beings, many of them the beings you call Ancients. They would have you destroy her."

Daniel raised an eyebrow.

Oma nodded. "Humanity has the capacity to destroy her. _For now_. You have weapons that would overpower her, but they would result in, as you say, collateral damage."

"Okay...so I'm guessing there's another opinion out there?" Daniel asked, seeing her somewhat annoyed expression.

"The Powers that Be, and others more familiar with her kind are aware that you _cannot_ destroy her."

"What?" Daniel asked, surprised.

"I am aware that the former Watcher, Wesley, taught you some of the lore about the Old Ones upon your first meeting, but not even he understood the power they could wield, at least not then. The Old Ones, even if their physical form is destroyed entirely, can still survive. The Deeper Well is a graveyard to the Old Ones, but many of those Old Ones have ways of returning to this world, as Illyria did. We brought you here to make you understand the nature of our concerns, to make sure you have the information needed to make a choice about whether you will allow her to leave or not.."

"Because, of course, the Ancients themselves won't intervene," Daniel said sourly. He strokes his chin for a moment, meeting the eyes of the Ascended beings that stared at him before he nodded slowly. "Okay, I'll be sure consider it and let the others know."

Oma smiled, "Thank you Daniel. The Old One's situation is a complication none are quite certain how to deal with, and though many would have you attempt to destroy her, others, such as the Powers that Be, would rather give her an opportunity to evolve into something...new."

"I understand, I've heard they're big on redemption...hey, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Perhaps, though I may not answer."

"Of course," Daniel said, nodding quickly. "So the Ancients were known as Alterans, yes?" At Oma's nod, he continued, "the two Slayers that I know both tested positive for the gene. Given the rarity of the gene, that would be one hell of a coincidence."

Oma smiled and nodded. "Very good, Daniel. The Slayer lines coincide with an Alteran heritage; all the Potentials—well I suppose all the Slayers now, possess that heritage to varying degrees. The Slayer was a product of both the Nox, the Alterans, and the Powers that Be. The Nox, called the loranites by some at that time, had established contact with the Alterans, though had not entered into any formal pact. The Nox had learned, at great effort, to commune with the Powers that Be to some degree and learned more about the nature of what the Alterans were dealing with on Earth. They learned what was necessary to create the Slayer, a warrior capable of fighting the demons on equal terms and without the need for technology."

Oma saw his frown and elaborated, "technology was somewhat ineffective against the Old Ones. What use are drones against creatures who use magic? Whose natural bodies imbued them with powers and abilities that the Alterans could not fight? The lesser creatures that fought for the Old Ones could often be destroyed, but so many others required specific methods for them to be destroyed. Take the vampires for example. In the open, the Alterans were more than capable of using drones or their many other advanced weapons to destroy them, but move them into a more enclosed space and their greatest asset is reduced significantly in effectiveness. They needed a way to fight the demons and Old Ones on the physical level that they were incapable of."

"The Slayer," Daniel stated.

With a nod, the Ascended being continued, "it was a joint effort of magic and applied knowledge which led to the creation of Sineya, the first Slayer. She had been an Alteran, one who volunteered without quite understanding what she was volunteering for. But it's a regrettable fact that _no one_ was quite capable of understanding what they'd unleashed upon the world. By the time it was done, Sineya lost much of herself as the demon essence was fused with her own, becoming nearly feral in her drive to destroy demons until she eventually lost her life in battle. This resulted in another Alteran being Called as a Slayer, establishing their lineage. But the creation of the Slayer came far too late, Daniel."

Oma's expression became tired and sad, glancing around the diner and its occupants with a sympathetic expression. "When they first arrived, they had no understanding of the native creatures. No comprehension that they were more than mere beasts, not even the massive and unusual ones. They understood they were dangerous and so they endeavored to remain isolated from them, building in isolation or in the safety of their city-ships. But they weren't beasts, Daniel, these beasts were what humans refer to as demons, many of whom had entered this world from other dimensions, and the more powerful demons were exceedingly territorial.

"The Alterans were largely ignored, suffering from occasional attacks and retaliating in kind, but they had never attracted the attention of the greater demons, the more intelligent and powerful ones. That uneasy co-existence lasted for many thousands of years until the Alterans discovered that this world was a convergence of dimensions, a place where the walls were thinnest, a place that held new and exciting scientific possibilities. They eventually found a point in this world where the walls were at their most thin and removed the demons that had occupied it in order to conduct their research."

"The Hellmouth!" Daniel exclaimed, shaking his head in understanding.

"Yes, a portal that turned out to have been watched over zealously. The Old One closest to the Hellmouth investigated the intruders and thought them an infestation of a particularly new and interesting type of creature. He created the plague that drove the Alterans away from Earth, but not before a short yet brutal war was fought. The Alterans were able to hold their own for a short time, and though the Nox were steadfast allies, the Nox have never been warriors. Fighting on their own against the unfamiliar powers of the Old Ones bled the population dry, a result encouraged further by the rapid progress of the plague.

Some Alterans remained on Earth, carriers of the plague or loved ones that refused to leave. After Sineya died and the process of young women being Chosen to replace their predecessor was cemented, it was noticed that the Slayers were largely resistant to the plague. In the hopes of propagating the Slayers' innate resistance to the plague within the greater gene pool, Alteran scientists used gene therapy and a localized breeding program using eggs collected from the girls after being Chosen. Few, so very few Alterans stayed behind on Earth when the others left, but there were enough to allow the Alterans to sustain themselves until the remainder of their people returned millions of years later."

"Why didn't the Alterans create more than one Slayer?" Daniel asked, then winced as he thought about the pain Sineya and all the girls since have suffered.

"Partly because the...degradation of Sineya's psyche made her nearly as dangerous to them as the demons themselves, partly because of the immense joint effort required to create one in the first place, and partly because they had simply run out of time by then. I believe the Powers that Be are in someway responsible for the continued survival of the Slayer and the remaining Alterans, but I do not know for sure."

Daniel nodded and was silent for a moment before he quietly asked, "Oma...what _are_ the Powers that Be?"

Oma's mouth curled into a sour smile. "Contrary to what they would often have their agents believe, they are not in fact all knowing beings; their reasons for concern regarding Illyria's departure should make this obvious. As to _what_ they are..." Oma shook her head. "I'm not entirely certain, but I can tell you this, Daniel. The Powers that Be claim to have been the first beings to develop within this dimension and it was the arrival of the Old Ones that forced them out, to leave or to enter this higher level of existence. My understanding is that the transition was not immediate and that they shared the world for some amount of time. If you were trying to be more specific than that...I would say that the Powers that Be have much more in common with the Old Ones themselves than they would with you or I."

Oma glanced around the diner after a second and frowned. "Do you have any more questions? They would rather like to have you returned now, it appears your body has been discovered by one of your friends."

Daniel looked at the other woman, this mature, brunette wearing the uniform of a waitress and couldn't help but be in awe, despite their conversation, at what she represented in this diner, at the other patrons who were still looking at him. "I...no, I don't think so. Thank you, Oma, I sincerely appreciate what you've told me. So you think I'll see you again?"

The woman smiled radiantly, "I probably told you a little more than they'd like, but I like to stick it all to the others every now and then. As for whether I'll see you again? I'd like to think so, Daniel, I think you're just the kind of person a place like this needs."

#

Daniel woke up and felt a throbbing pain deep in his chest.

"Daniel, wake up! Please don't do this! Daniel!"

Daniel groaned when a hand slapped his face, the throbbing pain now in two places on his body.

"Daniel! Oh thank god, Daniel!"

Daniel put a hand to his face, rubbing the sore spot gingerly. He slowly sat up and looked around his lit room. Samantha was kneeling over him, pale faced and hands now clasped against her mouth. "Sam?"

"I wanted some advice from you and knocked on the door. I saw your car but you weren't answering the door. I got a little worried and your door was unlocked so I came in and called your name. When I didn't hear anything, I went into your room...Daniel your heart had stopped!"

The archaeologist narrowed his eyes. "I locked the front door."

Sam looked guilty, "I _really_ wanted the advice, I might have unlocked it..."

"What if I had been entertaining company...female company!"

Sam snorted.

"I resent that," Daniel said sullenly.

"Daniel...your heart _stopped_. I need to get you to a hospital to get you checked out." Sam pulled him upwards, trying to get him to stand.

"Sam, Sam, it's okay. I...something happened."

"I know, you twit, your heart stopped!"

Daniel grimaced. "Ah, no. My heart _was_ stopped, intentionally."

Sam stopped a slightly different type of panic appearing on her face."Someone tried to kill you?!"

"I believe that the 'try' part is demonstrably incorrect. I _did_ die, Sam."

"Okay..." Sam said slowly, confusion filling her expression. "You don't seem all that disappointed in that. You seem oddly excited, in fact."

"I met Oma Desala again."

"...an Ascended being just killed you? I thought that was against the rules?"

Daniel gave the blonde a wan smile. "No, apparently the Powers that Be killed me so I would have the chance to speak with Oma, who then returned me here," Daniel explained.

"The Powers that—" Sam cut herself off, looking at him with wide eyes. "There's a story here, huh?"

"You might say that," Daniel said, rubbing his chest as if ensuring that his heart was still beating. "We should call Jack, get him over here, I need to say it all while it's fresh in my mind."

Sam nodded, "I'll give him a call. Given the identity of your...killers, should I be contacting Faith, too?"

Daniel paused, unsure but finally gave in. "Yes, and Buffy, too. Both are going to be interested in what they have to say. I'm going to assume Illyria is coming as well, so...that'll be fun. Now that we're at it, might as well grab Teal'c too, just to complete the gang."

Sam grimaced but nodded her assent.

"Sam...you said you broke into my house to get advice?"

The astrophysicist blushed. "I...it's not important."

"Important enough that you _broke_ into my house," Daniel countered, smirking.

"Jack asked me out," she blurted.

Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Really? Didn't think he'd ever manage that."

Sam frowned in agreement. "I think Faith might have said something to him. Something about 'not making me wait forever on his old ass'."

"Well, it's been a long time coming. So what advice do you need? You two have been dancing around each other for the better part of a decade!"

"Oh, god, it really _has _been that long, hasn't it?" she has rhetorically before speaking again. "It's the same problem as before, Daniel. He's my commanding officer."

"My understanding is that the biggest problem would if one of you were enlisted. Aren't rules regarding the chain of command more flexible between officers and so long as no morale or behavior problems within the unit can be linked to it?"

"Yes to the former, but..." Sam made a waffling motion with her hand. "The second one _is _more flexible, but only to an extent. For a unit like Stargate Command and after I was _just_ promoted?"

"Why don't you just let somebody know higher up? Doesn't Jack have a red phone? I'd imagine that would get you a green light," Daniel said dryly.

"Yeah, but for that kind of patronage...it could really create a black mark on my record," Sam protested.

"Sam, don't doubt yourself. Your record speaks for itself, and any detractors can just...suck it," Daniel said, finally discovering the best way to word his feelings on the matter.

Sam's mouth curled into a smile. "Think so?"

"Know so, and so do you. You wouldn't be here otherwise."

The blonde nodded, biting her lip, and was obviously thinking hard on the decision she had to make. "Okay," she said softly, then in a firmer, happier tone, "okay."

"Now go, call the team and 'the girls'," Daniel ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Sam said, smiling and giving him a lazy mock salute.

#

"Well, _that_ was fun," Jack muttered. "So, still a good idea to let the Blue One through the gate?" he asked his audience of three.

Faith, Buffy, and their incredibly anti-charming Old One companion had left just a few minutes ago, leaving the members that had once comprised the SG-1 team deep in thought about Oma and Illyria's revelations.

"Sounds like there isn't a good answer, Jack," Daniel said unhelpfully. "Though I think it's odd that the Powers that Be would be overt in their actions, even if its just to assist the Ancients in getting in contact with me. If the bad guys like Wolfram & Hart knew of this situation, which I imagine they must to some degree, I wonder what they'd make of it."

"It's probably not the greatest idea to try to understand the inner thought processes of a cabal of evil interdimensional demons," Jack said dryly, "it's bad for the noggin'."

Sam smiled at that. "Still, I have to say that we've uncovered a treasure trove of information, knowledge of a history that we'd never have learned without Illyria and the reaction to her presence from the remaining Great Races."

"Yeah, and now we know why the Furlings are so scarce," Daniel grimaced, the others joining to share his displeasure.

"Given that they, the Nox, and the Asgard were the ones who created the Deeper Well, with the Furlings being the primary architects, it's not surprising that the Old Ones would seek retribution," Sam said.

They all shuddered. When the Alterans had returned approximately 100,000 years ago, they had been far better prepared to fight the Old Ones than before. The Alterans came back and with them their desire to return to Earth, to find out if their descendants still lived. The Alliance of Four Great Races had not been built for the express purpose of the Alteran's war, but it was a factor. The Alliance's ability to collaborate and share resources and knowledge gave them an edge against the isolated, territorial beings that held dominion over the world. It was the Furlings who conceptualized the Deeper Well, who convinced the other races to undertake the massive effort, and they who worked with the Nox to capture the Old Ones' essences after their bodies were destroyed in battle.

Illyria had revealed that when the Old Ones had discovered they could be rendered effectively dormant if held within the Deeper Well, they had sought their 'retribution'. The Old Ones had been nearly contained by that point, lesser ones destroyed outright in battle by the Alterans or Asgard, the greater ones entombed in the Well or driven to other dimensions. Illyria had stated that the Old Ones had never truly thought of their conflict as a war and the legions the Old Ones had set forth were rarely coordinated with one another. The Old Ones fought because they loved the battle, the violence caused in their wake, and the Alliance of Four Great Races presented a new challenge to their dominance. Illyria's own fate was evidence of her claim that even in the midst of their ongoing battles against the Alliance, they continued to betray and war against one another with equal fervor.

The retribution against the Furlings was one of the few cooperative efforts the ancient demons had taken during the course of the war. A number of the remaining free Old Ones were the ones who took it upon themselves to dispense their vengeance. Illyria had been betrayed shortly after the group had ventured forth, but she was aware when the counterstroke was delivered. The Old Ones had used the Stargate system to map their way to the Furling's homeworld and had traveled there using their own power and magicks.

Those Old Ones, like Illyria had once been capable of, possessed the ability to project and manipulate energy. After their arrival to the Furling's homeworld, the Old Ones had utilized that talent by focusing it on the planet's core. The reaction was reminiscent of Netu's destruction at the hands of the Tok'ra, even if accomplished through different methods. The focused energy caused the core to ignite, resulting in the planet itself exploding. The fate of the Old Ones who perpetrated the act is unknown, though Illyria had suggested that they had been planning to leave the dimension once the Furlings had been punished.

It was a terrifying thought that there had once been beings who could possess that level of power, a power not harnessed by millions of years of evolution and technological development, but instead one contained naturally within the flesh and spirit. It was just as devastating to know that the power used to destroy the Furling homeworld had left a wound in the Furling racial memory so deep that the species remained reclusive to this day.

The whole story spun by Illyria and tied in by Oma's conversation with Daniel was terrifying, in fact. It was his decision, Jack knew, about whether he should allow Illyria to go through the Gate or have her remain on Earth. And that it was his advice which might lead to an effort to destroy her, though the method of doing so hadn't been thought out yet. It was a burden of his obligations to Earth that the fact Faith was almost certain to be among the "collateral damage" couldn't be allowed to affect his final decision. Not about something that had mystical and interstellar powers making their concerns known.

"Well?" Daniel asked.

"I don't like being told what to do, or what we _should_ do," Jack said after a minute. "If the Ascended jerks want something, they can put down their pancakes and waffles and get off their butt and do it themselves."

"Alright then," Sam murmured, a light curl to her lips.

"Indeed," Teal'c added with the barest hint of his own smile.

* * *

**Two days later...  
December 6th, 2005**

"So you finally got tired of us, huh?" Roger Watts asked, bumping his beer into Faith's.

"Pretty sure _us_ just means _you_, Watts," Jessica laughed.

"Nah," Faith said, smiling. "I couldn't ever get tired of you guys."

"Atlantis," Henry Boyd said, raising his bottle in the air.

The others followed his example, clinking bottles together in a toast.

"It's a shame though," Boyd said seriously. "I was looking forward to having you on the team. Who else will get me stinking drunk and take pictures of me after drawing on me and applying makeup? And sending them to my _wife_!"

Faith smirked as the others laughed. "Don't worry guys, I'll be back. Think something like a little galaxy would stop me from coming back?" Faith waved a hand, making a dismissive sound.

Watts turned to check the grill outside while Boyd and Jessica continued the banter. Faith laughed and took the time to thank anyone that was listening for providing her these friends for the last two years.

"Where's 'tiny-but-fierce'?" Jessica asked as Watts came back with a large platter of burgers and grilled buns.

_The man can be a spaz_, Faith admitted to herself, _but damn if he can't grill._ "She's in Scotland, saying her goodbyes. I'm flying up tomorrow to join her."

Three pairs of eyes blinked at her.

"Where is she going?" Watts asked slowly, frowning.

Faith took a sip of beer, waiting for the others to do likewise. "Atlantis." The three fits of coughing and spluttering that followed were like music to her ears.

"Bullshit," Watts called.

Faith smiled.

Jessica whistled a long, appreciative note. "Whose ass did you have to kiss to swing _that_?" Jessica asked with raised eyebrows.

Faith just shrugged. "She already had clearance."

"You bitch," Watts complained without any rancor, "you're taking my future girlfriend away!"

Boyd and Faith snorted, the latter of whom said, "Watts, she's already been claimed. Find a new girl to creep on."

"Claimed?" Boyd asked, shooting a startled look at Faith.

"Multiple times," Faith confirmed

"You bitch," Roger Watts repeated.

"Get it, girl," Jessica crowed, giving Faith a fist bump.

"Now let's eat, I'm starving," Faith said, loading up a burger.

"Wouldn't think you'd be all that hungry, Faith, not with all the eating you've reportedly been doing," Watts observed with a leer.

Faith barked out a laugh while Jessica spat out the mouthful of beer she'd been about to swallow.

"I'm surrounded by children," Boyd complained, though he was obviously struggling to keep the amusement from his face.

Faith sat at the dining room table in Jack's home with the others and smiled, enjoying the food, the banter, and the friends.

* * *

"I'm leaving."

Her comment was met with a roomful of confused looks.

"But you just got here," Cordelia protested.

Buffy rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth. "Illyria, Faith, and I are leaving. We may not be coming back for a while. Maybe not at all."

Silence. A silence that soon turned into an uproar as those gathered around the table in the "privacy room" absorbed the new information.

Buffy waited till the cacophony of protests and complaints finished before attempted to speak again. "It's already been approved by the government people and my decision has been made. I'm here to say goodbye and Faith will be here tomorrow to do the same."

As usual, it was the impeccably dressed Englishman who managed to collect himself first. Giles cleared his throat, "might I ask exactly where you plan to go?"

Buffy had admitted to herself that no matter how hard this was going to be, no matter how painful the goodbyes, she had been looking forward to answering that question. A small smile appeared on her face as she cleared her own throat. "Atlantis."

There was another moment of startled silence.

"So why wouldn't you be coming back?" Kennedy asked, "is it too deep or something?"

Willow looked like she was beginning to understand, but Buffy wanted to do the big reveal herself. "No. Atlantis isn't actually on Earth, Kennedy. It's on another world," she paused for effect, "in another galaxy."

"Eep!"

Willow's startled squeak made Buffy smile inwardly; she would miss that sound.

"Um...how'd that happen?" Xander asked.

"I must admit that the location of Atlantis, if the Air Force is indeed correct, doesn't explain our own legends of the lost city," Giles nodded in agreement.

"Unless the city could fly," Buffy countered.

"Bugger me, you're just making it up now," Spike accused.

"Ask Illyria," Buffy challenged.

"I believe we're getting distracted," Giles said calmly.

"Not that Atlantis, the flying city, isn't worth being distracted by," Angel added dryly.

"Quite so," Giles agreed.

"Yeah, I mean, I get why you'd want to go to _Atlantis_, because I mean, who _wouldn't_ want to go? But wouldn't you rather be here? On Earth? Near us?" Willow asked.

Before Buffy tackled the question, Dawn asked her own. "If you can get there, why wouldn't you be able to come back?"

"Faith understands more about this than I," Buffy admitted, "but I think it's because we have the power _here_ to send us _there_, but we would have to find another power source _there_ to send us _here._"

Dawn nodded slowly before drawing her knees up to her chest. "When do you leave?" her sister asked quietly.

"In about a week," Buffy said, just as softly.

"Oh," Willow murmured, looking shocked.

"I'm telling you that I might not be coming back," Buffy repeated, "but it's also possible that we'll be able to return on our own within days of our arrival or that others can come get us." Buffy grinned suddenly. "I stood on a spaceship a couple of weeks ago. Two of them, actually. Got to meet Thor, dude goes totally in the buff like Faith said. Also apparently we have spaceships too."

"We've had them for decades, Buffy," Willow explained patiently.

"Not ones with shields and hyperspace thingies and," Buffy decided to emulate General Jack O'Neill for a moment, "big honkin' space guns!" She finished with her arms crossed, her smile smug.

"Dear lord!" Giles exclaimed.

"And there are the glasses..." Xander murmured as the Watcher proceeded to polish his glasses.

"So you're leaving then, are you?" Spike asked. He looked conflicted, his occasional glances toward Dawn clearly explaining why.

"It's not because of us...is it?" Dawn asked, indicating Spike with a nod.

"No pet," Spike said, keeping an eye on Buffy, "I imagine it doesn't help any, but something like this has been coming for a long time, and we all know it. Besides, if it were something that simple we'd have ourselves a little rumble all proper like and move on."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"So you'll be able and _willing_ to travel with Illyria?" Giles asked dubiously.

"Well, funny thing about Illyria," Buffy said, and proceeded to inform the gang of the newest developments between Illyria, Thor, and Oma, smiling at the occasional "bloody hell!" and "dear Lord!" exclamations.

Once Buffy had finished her story, the others looked absolutely stunned. Giles's glasses should have been sparkling given how many times they'd been polished and Willow was clearly in the throws of a mind-blowing nerdgasm.

"What about Faith? How is she doing? I'm assuming you've been working with her on this; is everything...alright?" the brooding vampire asked somewhat awkwardly.

It seemed that Angel, as usual, had been the only one to have given much of a thought to Faith. It was another reminder to Buffy that no matter how far they'd come along, there would always be a subtle animosity toward the so-called Dark Slayer. It was patently absurd given the various things they'd all done to each other at one point or another.

At Angel's question, she had opened her mouth to reply when she suddenly had flashbacks of the previous night's activities with the brunette. She felt her face warm. Faith hadn't lied, she really _did_ know how to go fast_ and_ slow. Buffy cleared her throat, "yeah." She felt her face flush even more when her voice cracked. "Yeah," she repeated, "She's been really helpful about getting me up to speed on...stuff."

Angel and Spike were staring at her through narrowed eyes and Buffy wasn't quite able to meet their gazes. _Shit._

"So what's the plan?" Xander asked, "I mean you wouldn't just come up here to say that and leave, so what's the dealio?"

"No," Buffy agreed, "I want to have a party." After a moment, she crossed her arms and added defiantly, "with _beer!_"

* * *

**December 7**t**h, 2005**

When a giggling young Slayerette had led Faith into the castle, she hadn't thought anything of it. Honestly, the ungodly early hour and the equally ungodly long flight had taken most of it out of her. But when the silence of the halls of the castle began to permeate into her senses, her mind began to focus. The young Slayer-in-Training whose eyes were still filled with laughter roused her suspicions even further.

Faith heard a distant crash followed by a groan and then noticed the red plastic cups littering the hallway floor. The familiar scent of alcohol began to waft through the hall as she continued her trek into the bowels of Duart Castle. Faith began to smile, a slow thing that crept up her face that resolved itself into a smirk. _Must have been one _hell _of a party_.

The Slayerette, Faith still couldn't remember her name, finally led her into one of the larger common rooms. Illyria was there, staring at the various bodies that were strewn about the floor with a mixture of curiosity, confusion, and disgust. Faith noted Willow and Kennedy curled together against a wall while Xander was sprawled out on the middle of the floor with an impressive looking black eye. There were glass fragments, the remains of a beer bottle being thrown or dropped, littering the ground beneath a makeshift dartboard.

Faith grinned at the sight of Andrew who was huddled in a corner, embracing a partial cardboard cut-out of Han Solo. There were a few other bodies lying about haphazardly, some sporting minor injuries, others displaying the indignities one might suffer after such an eventful night.

Faith saw Angel and Spike, sitting on the edge of a table, beers in hand, watching her as she made her entrance. Seeing their fingers pointing downwards, she bent slightly to see Buffy underneath the table. Her face was obscured, but the mass of unruly blonde hair could be no one else's. Creeping closer, she could hear just the tiniest of snores escaping her lips and clutched to her chest was a veritable mountain of empty beer bottles, as if she had been protecting them. Her shirt had been torn slightly at the shoulder while Buffy's pants had been removed completely. Those pants had been rolled up and were serving as her pillow, while Dawn helped cover Buffy's lower half with her own much more loudly snoring, drooling, form.

"A picture of grace and beauty, they are not," Spike observed, his English tones breaking the silence, despite the softness of his voice.

Beside him, Angel snorted and waved at her.

Faith shook her head, laughing quietly. She heard a quiet murmur and saw Cordelia in a comfortable looking chair where, rather than beer bottles, she clutched an expensive looking purse to her body.

"Wow," Faith breathed.

The two vampires both nodded and took another sip of their beers.

"Vamp constitution, huh?" Faith asked eyeing their sober forms.

"Bloody inconvenient at times," Spike confirmed.

"Then again," Angel said, "I don't envy them whenever they do regain consciousness."

"Dawn told me she could take me beer for beer," Spike said, smirk fully in place. "Poor little lamb said that the key energy would obviously protect her."

"She may have already been inebriated by that time," Angel added in the younger Summers sister's defense. "_Very_ inebriated."

Faith chuckled.

Spike hopped down from the edge of the table. "Alright Slayer, we want to talk to you for a moment without the others around to revert to their bloody teenage years."

Angel followed his childe and indicated to Faith that she should go with them. Faith quirked her eyebrow at him but did as he asked.

They had gone just a short distance away, Faith taking the lead to close the drapes over any open windows that might've allowed the rays of the rising sun to hamper the vampires' movements. Angel led her into a small room that held several bookcases, expensive looking standing lamps, and several recliners. It felt very posh, made more so by the paintings that decorated the wall along with subtle wall colors.

"This is where Giles goes when he needs a break from all of..." Angel waved a hand in a vague direction, "this."

"Bloke has to have the patience of a bloody saint to watch over this lot," Spike muttered.

"So," Faith asked, "what's the what?"

"Something Buffy said last night, or didn't say, she—"

Spike cut Angel off, "look Faith we just wanted to know. Are you and Buffy shagging?"

Angel looked annoyed but his inquisitive gaze remained locked on Faith.

Faith sat down in one of the chairs, resisting the urge to leave the room and slam the door in their faces. The two vampires followed suit, sitting in their own chairs. She wasn't sure what they were thinking, not from their expressions at least. Faith leaned back and sighed. _In for a penny..._ "Yes."

"Bloody hell," Spike muttered, "does that have anything to do with her decision to fly off with you to another galaxy?"

Faith grimaced. "In a roundabout way, sort of."

Spike glared at her.

Angel spoke softly, but steadily. "Faith, we just want to know."

"Why?" Faith challenged. "Both of you are already involved with someone. Someone like her _little sister_, so why do you want to know?"

Spike looked embarrassed at the mention of Dawn, but he and Angel shared a look and simultaneously said, "because it's Buffy."

Faith opened her mouth and paused. "Okay, fair enough. Guess we're all a bit pussywhipped, huh?"

Angel gave her a pained look. "Please don't."

"What's wrong, Angel?" Faith asked in mock concern, "you look a little peaked, not getting enough to eat? I sure am!"

Spike groaned.

Angel glared at her and then suddenly went wide-eyed. "You! You ate the cookie!"

Faith blinked. "I'd say come again but that's been _my_ thing lately. So...huh?"

"You cheeky slag. You better hope Buffy doesn't find out what you're on about," Spike said, but the corners of his mouth had curled up.

Angel's glare hadn't abated. "You. Ate. The. Cookie."

"What _are_ you talking about, you ponce?" Spike asked, his baffled expression mirroring Faith's.

Angel spoke, his eyes intent on Faith. "Right after Buffy killed Caleb—"

"The wanker," Spike muttered.

"She and I talked," Angel continued, ignoring Spike. "About us, about her. She said that she wasn't done yet, that she was still cookie dough. She needed time to grow, to bake. Time until she was ready to be a cookie and be—"

Spike burst out laughing. Faith joining in a heartbeat later. Angel lost his grip on whatever annoyance he had felt and finally started laughing too.

It took them a minute or two to finally settle down, minutes that were occupied by moments of near calm that were broken by a single titter or chuckle that set them off again. It felt good, Faith thought, to be able to laugh like this and with these people. To be able to smile at one of the possibly final memories she might have of them. When they'd finally come down the from the high the laughter had produced, both vampires caught her gaze once again.

"Look Faith, about Buffy—"

"Angel," Faith interjected, "if you're about to tell me not to hurt her, you are _years_ too late, but I won't do so intentionally again."

"Although the bird doesn't mind a little pain now and again," Spike observed, a smile flashing on his face for a moment.

Faith gave him an interested look. "Noted."

"Oh god, please stop," Angel said with a groan.

"Angel, I guarantee you that _that_ particular phrase is one B has _never_ used with me," Faith said, starting to laugh again.

Angel growled as Spike laughed with her. "I hate you both."

"No you don't, Angel," Faith said, smiling warmly. "You knew me better than I knew myself all those years ago and you've kept a better eye on me than anyone else here. I don't know if we'll be forever, Buffy and I, but I do know that whatever we have now, it's a good thing. I haven't had a lot of good things in my life and I'm not going to fuck this one up." She paused for a moment. "Part of what has her coming with me also helped us...you know, connect or whatever, I took her to Caritas when she came to Colorado Springs."

Angel's expression became pinched with a fusion of guilt and regret. "How's Lorne?"

"It's a struggle running a 'fabulous' demon bar without a whole lot of demons about, but he makes do," Faith answered. "Some of the more peaceful demons have been moving closer, for advice or for occasional shelter. It's not all glitter and jazz like I hear the last one was, but it'll get there."

Spike nodded. "Good for him. So what did he have to say about our girl?"

Faith didn't bother to dispute the 'our' part. "Lorne told _me_ that I'd be going far away and for a long time."

"Atlantis," Angel murmured.

Faith nodded. "I didn't hear what he said to B, but she told me that the only way for her to be truly happy was if she came with me." The vamps looked skeptical and Faith didn't blame them. "Look, ask B, I don't know much more than that."

Angel nodded and then regarded her for a moment. "So you're going to a different galaxy," Angel said softly.

"Yep."

"I feel like I should be more in awe than I actually am," Spike frowned.

"Shit Spike, you became a vampire, later regained your soul, burned alive, got yourself resurrected, went all Casper on us, got rematerialized or whatever, and then spent your idle time trying to beat up Illyria." Faith shrugged. "New galaxy, that's just chump change."

"Atlantis," Angel murmured again.

"_That_ bit, I admit, has me more than a little gobsmacked," Spike said with a low whistle and a shake of his head.

Faith just nodded.

"Well," Spike said, "I may not be a soulless creature any longer, but that doesn't mean I don't delight in the suffering of others from time to time. If I can't get properly soused then I can at least have the pleasure of introducing the others to their morning hangover."

Angel looked interested but remained seated, "I think I'll stay here."

"Coward," Spike accused and left the room whistling a jaunty tune.

Faith winced. "That's not going to end well."

Just a few minutes later, a horrendous banging suddenly filled the castle accompanied by shouts and jeers delivered in Spike's familiar English accent. Faith went to poke her head outside and saw Spike standing in the entrance of the common room everyone had passed out in. He was laughing while slapping two pots together. Seeing her, he shot her a quick wink only to be distracted by the knife that buried itself in his shoulder. Spike was nothing if not persistent, however, and continued his revelry

Faith ducked back inside and shut the door. "Wow."

Angel shrugged with a slight smile but his grew. "Be happy, Faith, you both deserve it. Be safe, and make sure you come back."

Faith went to him and did something uncharacteristic and hugged him. Not a hard or fierce one, but a gentle embrace. "I will big guy, I will. Take care of the others for her, and take care of yourself."

The vampire returned her embrace and nodded.

* * *

Rupert Giles sat in a comfortable chair in his bedroom, smiling as he heard Spike poke at the proverbial bee hive. He shook his head; that vampire positively _thrived_ on mischief, soul or no soul. He turned his attention to the table in front of him which had upon its surface a report delivered to him by Faith. A report that had been written by Dr. Daniel Jackson, and collaborated with Faith.

To say it was fascinating would be a understatement. It was world changing, especially to a man like him who had been practically raised to be a Watcher. Learning the exact origins of humanity, of the Slayer, it was a priceless gift. It represented so much, this information, fundamental changes to their understanding of their universe and their place in it. He imagined that this was how most mundanes felt when they first learned of the supernatural.

It was shocking how much sense some of what he read made when tying it to the legends and lore that had been passed down for centuries. These Alterans who had been left on Earth millions of years ago had essentially been left on their own, losing much of their ability to create and repair their existing technology. Over the millions of years that followed, it's not surprising that the abandoned Alterans had become something closer to primitive humans. The explanation for how 'mortal animals' like mankind were able to drive the Old Ones out was so much more plausible with the new information about this 'Alliance of Four Great Races'.

Other legends, more lore, all made clearer or better explained. It was an influx of knowledge the likes of which the Watcher's Council had never seen in his lifetime, and likely far beyond that.

Giles reached for his tumbler only to discover that the scotch was gone. While he had refused to get 'jiggy wit it', he had poured himself a scotch when he had began to read that report. That tumbler had been refilled more than a few times as the hours had passed.

The report itself was well written, well thought out, and well presented. It was an obvious overture from the archaeologist to establish some form of dialog, perhaps collaboration for future works. There _were_ obvious gaps in the man's knowledge of the supernatural world, knowledge that Faith had attempted to impart, but there were mistakes or details missing. Details that might allow Daniel, to allow humanity, to be given a clear glimpse into its past and possible even to its future. Perhaps he ought to follow Fred and Willow's example and trust these people enough to work with them.

He sighed and glanced at a picture that stood next to the report on the table. A precious belonging that he had brought with him to England after Buffy had died jumping off that tower. Rupert gazed at the faces of those teenagers, so young and happy. They were all his children, in their own way, and sometimes he forgot everything that had happened and remembered them only as they appeared in this picture. The Scoobies. Everyone was in that picture, even Cordelia and Oz. But not Faith. He supposed it was an accurate tableau for the obvious metaphor. Giles had enjoyed many successes in his life, but there were glaring faults as well. One of them was Faith.

In the center of that picture was Buffy, a representation of everything good that had ever come from him. A girl he'd watched over, helped guide, and helped teach her to be a better Slayer. A women who didn't trust him as she once had, not since she turned 18 and not since he'd worked with Robin to kill Spike.

Faith and Buffy...

The two girls contrasted so well. They always had. Kendra had been jarring, an effective Slayer loyal to the Council, almost to a fault. Off putting and standoffish, But Faith...

Seeing Faith return to the fold had been a good moment in the midst of the terrifying struggle with the First, however it had also been a reminder that it had taken a vampire to finally reach out and save her from herself. Perhaps it was just his ego that smarted. But regardless of the complicated history he enjoyed with each girl, he now faced a situation that would have him saying goodbye to two women who had both affected him profoundly.

Giles sighed. Training as a Watcher, he had been taught that he would eventually have to do just that, to watch his Slayer die, to _let _her die even. But he had discovered years ago that with Buffy, he didn't want to have to say goodbye and now it looked like he might just have to.

* * *

**December 9th, 2005**

Faith sat next to Buffy, watching the clouds as the Boeing 777 climbed into the sky. Buffy had been on a plane more than a few times, but her? Not until the first time she flew to Scotland about a year ago, and only once since then. It was a simple joy to watch the ground fall away from you, to see everything turn so small, and watch as the clouds began to surround you and enfold you. Buffy had been happy to give the window seat to Faith, and so she took advantage of the view available to her.

When the ground was no longer visible, she turned to see Buffy looking at her strangely.

"What?" Faith asked, feeling embarrassed for some reason.

Buffy smiled. "You looked...I don't know, happy, I guess."

"Seems stupid to be hyped up over being 30,000 feet in the air considering where we're going, huh?" Faith asked.

"Nah," Buffy protested, "it doesn't. You told me that you'd only flown a couple times before but it didn't really click."

Faith shrugged. "Didn't get much chance when I was just a wee little one." She added the Irish accent to the last words, making Buffy smile.

Buffy put a hand on her knee, idly drawing slow invisible circles with a finger. "It's..." she paused and bit her lip.

"What B?"

"Angel knows more about you and your past than anyone and I forget that sometimes." Buffy paused. "Will you tell me too?"

"What? Now?" Faith blinked, tensing at the subject despite her confusion.

"No, not here!" Buffy hissed, "in private!"

"Y'all don't have to worry about me," a southern accented voice cut it. "I have plenty of things to amuse myself with."

Faith shared a commiserating look with Buffy. They both understood that translated into something closer to: "Your past is of no interest to me and your weak human emotions are a hindrance for you and a burden for me. You are but muck to me, etc."

"No," Buffy said, "not now, just...you know...eventually?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you more," Faith said quietly. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Faith asked, "are _you_ alright?"

Buffy let out a deep breath. "No," she admitted, "but I will be. Saying goodbye isn't much fun."

"Bet Cordelia reminding you of the lack of shopping opportunities on another planet didn't help," Faith observed with a smile.

"No, no it didn't," Buffy pouted.

"It was a good goodbye though, ya know? No drama, just...goodbye."

Buffy nodded, "Spike had said that they were all expecting something like this at some point. Well not like _this_ you know, but something that would have me leaving them behind."

"The vamp might act like a punk, but you don't get to be close to two centuries old without some smarts." Faith took hold of the hand Buffy had placed on her knee and squeezed it. "For what its worth, B, I'm glad you're coming with me and that you finally baked."

Buffy gave her a confused look.

Faith smirked, "Angel said something about cookie dough and baking?"

Buffy's eyes went big, "you guys—he said _that_!"

"Oh yeah," Faith said, smile writ large on her face, "While you were doing your sleeping beauty impression on the floor after the party, the vamps and I chatted."

Buffy groaned. "Beer bad. Bad, bad beer. Ugh, so what did you even talk about?"

"How much I like eating your cookie."

Buffy went red and stared at her, "ugh, you're as bad as the guys. What'd you do, compare notes?"

"Spike _did_ say a little pain could flip your switch," Faith said with a contemplative tone.

Buffy blushed even harder.

"We could have just whipped it out and measured but I didn't have mine with me," Faith said, sounding morose.

"_Shut up!_" Buffy hissed at her, but she was smiling.

"I agree," Illyria said in her Fred voice, "I have to say this conversation has me feeling a little ill."

Faith and Buffy smiled at each other and leaned back to enjoy the plane ride still holding hands.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **In this chapter, I spent a lot of effort at trying to portray Illyria well. Even at the beginning of Angel, it was noted that Illyria was extremely talented at understanding human dynamics and social interactions if not the daily minutia they spent their time on. I tried to exemplify that while still throwing out scenes like the fishing comment. By the end of the comics where she sort-of dies, she was willing to sacrifice herself to save humanity which is a 100% turnaround from where she started. She is a character capable of growth, albeit slow growth. I plan to allow the character growth as well, though in what direction and to what extent, I do not know. So far, this chapter should also indicate that many if not most of her thoughts still revolve around her or about her ability to control others/herself. Her role will be expanding in part three.

Regarding who knows what: the way things have played out in my mind, the SGC people are far more aware of the supernatural world than the Scoobies/Slayers are aware of the Stargate/extraterrestrial encounters. That is due in large part to Faith's presence on the doorstep of the SGC. I just couldn't see Faith calling the Scoobies to make her daily reports, you know? So even though the main Scoobies know about the Stargate and maybe some of the other big things, they aren't actually kept abreast of it all.

I hope my attempt to explain the Slayer, the origins and lineage works with you guys. I didn't want to make it _just_ a magic thing, or _just_ a technology thing. I wanted the PtB to be involved, but were obviously not solely responsible for given the whole Shadow Men thing. Hope it works for you.

The loranites were a group referenced by Urkonn, a character from one of the comics. The reference is from this quote: "_...Eventually, as mortal animals evolved, under the protection of certain mages and loranites..."_ As far as I know, there has never been any explanation as to what they are so I figured, what the hell, make them the Nox who had already been involved with man at that point.

I thought my story about the Old Ones and the Furlings was a good way to convey some of the more major acts so it didn't seem like it was all a bunch of knife fights in dark alleys. I thought it was a good idea not only because it helped explain the scarcity of the Furlings but to also help emphasize the scale of the conflict and the power of the Old Ones. We know that Illyria was immensely powerful when she first re-entered our realm and she wasn't even in her original form with the full extent of her strength. I tried to imagine how a group of them might best respond to the actions of the Furlings and voila. *shrug* I liked writing the scenario.

Regarding the timeline: To explain the timeline and how it interacts with this chapter and the events described, I wanted to elaborate a little.  
* **20-10 million years ago (MYA):** Alterans arrive on Earth, populate it, build their city-ships, etc.  
* **10-5 MYA:** Alterans presence has grown signficantly on Earth. Alterans had made contact with the Nox and Asgard. Alterans discover the Hellmouth and the unique properties of the planet's interactions with other dimensions.  
\- Alterans move into the Hellmouth's vicinity, destroying the beasts (demons) that had guarded it.  
\- The Old One closest to the Hellmouth, Vrill, discovered the Alterans and the extent of their spread across the world. Vrill developed the plague (through unknown means) and released it upon the Alteran population  
\- Alterans suffer from the plague and in their haste to search for a cure, learn where it developed. They discover the Old Ones and their power. As the Alterans search for a cure, a war between the Old Ones and the Alterans begins. The Nox, working with the PtBs, work with the Alterans to create the first Slayer. Sineya and the others Chosen after her death become one of the tools best suited for dealing with many of the demon threats when advanced technology and weaponry becomes ineffective. Shortly after this time, the plague has become too virulent and widespread to be contained any longer.  
\- Most Alterans ascend or move to the Pegasus galaxy. Plague carriers remain on Earth as does the Slayer and a number of Alterans who had proved somewhat resistant to the disease (Slayer lineage + the randoms)  
* **100,000 BC: **Alterans return from Pegasus galaxy. Alterans form the Alliance of Four Great Races. The alliance is not strictly military in nature, used mostly for knowledge and information sharing. However the various allies are tapped by the Alterans for assistance in reclaiming the Earth.  
\- The Nox's willingness to intercede is already somewhat understood. The Asgard and the Furlings less so. I'm not planning getting into that, but I'm going to assume the "massive danger to multiple dimensions" that the Old Ones present was at least some motivation to investigate or confront them.  
* Alterans discover that the descendants of the ones left behind millions of years ago are alive, protected by the Nox, the Slayer, and the magic taught to them by the agents of the Powers that Be.  
**100,000 BC - 10,000 BC: **The war between the Old Ones, the Alterans, and the other Great Races. The Alterans, the Slayer, and the Asgard provide much of the physical might while the Nox, Furlings, and the PtB's assist on the more mystical theatre.  
\- At some point, the Furlings conceptualize the Deeper Well and enlist the aid in the other Races to create it. (I imagine the Asgard or the Alterans would be best suited for drilling a hole through the world?)  
\- Old Ones are gradually destroyed and entombed within it, preventing them from manifesting again. Others are gradually driven from the dimension, by force or willingly.  
\- Old Ones discover the existence of the Deeper Well but have been significantly weakened by infighting and their ongoing battle with the Four Races. The Furlings learn who is responsible for the creation of it and destroy the Furling's homeworld. (I stated earlier that this was close to the end of the war)

On a more technical question: I still don't quite understand how "ascended" is supposed to be properly capitalized. I've seen the very to be _usually _lowercase, and the noun to be uppercase, bu it isn't always consistent. Anyone have a better idea on that?


	10. The Lost City

**— Thor's Slayers ****—**

**Chapter Ten**

_**The Lost City**_

* * *

**the DragonBard: **It might be a result of my own flawed understanding, but I interpreted the history (and the Buffy wiki) of the Old Ones and the PtBs as such: Jasmine _did_ say or suggest that the Powers that Be were a group of Old Ones who actively worked together, seeking to do "good", but were driven out by the more aggressive and powerful Old Ones. _However_, later in the comics it was stated that the Old Ones were brought from a different dimension because of the Seed of Wonder, which is how they came to share the Earth with the PtBs. This would suggest that the PtBs had already been there. By the first theory of their relationship, you would be correct. But in all honesty, I just couldn't see uber powerful demons suddenly deciding they wanted to fight for all that was good and right.  
As to how that relates to to the Stargate Universe, the first interpretation of the relationship between Old Ones and the PtBs is almost identical to that of the Lanteans and Ori. Their shared ancestry all the way to the Alteran race splitting into each faction as a result of philosophical differences. Even the exodus of the PtBs is mirrored by that of the Lanteans. It really is an astonishingly close comparison.  
But with the PtBs and the Old Ones, I just didn't like the notion of them being two sides of the same coin and am actively choosing to use the new canon established by the comics (which I don't think is actually canon, but Joss Whedon still has an active hand in it, so fuck it).  
**HowlnMadHowie:** I remember watching that episode and I laughed _really _hard when Buffy threw that one out there. I thought it was too much fun and too apt a reference to ignore. As for the Wraith and PtB? My thinking was that the PtB and supernatural world is focused on Earth for all the dimensional-y reasons stated before. I thought a different galaxy might be a little farther than they cared to go and that the only way they'd know is if any returning Lanteans told them, which I doubt happened.  
**Sorentia: **Yeah, in the later stages of part two I started realizing that, even if the story and writing was good, there wasn't actually much happening. I mean, there's an obvious direction the story is taking but yeah, you're right, no action. That'll change with the first few chapters of part three, so hang on! I'm also not a big fan of the PtBs being the champions of justice and the American way and all that, but they come pretty close. They do a lot more good, albeit indirectly, as a group than the Ascended beings do for the Stargate universe (excluding Merlin, Morgan La Fey, Oma, Orlin), that's for sure.

* * *

#

**December 11th, 2005  
**_(Two days before Atlantis dialing attempt)_

Faith stood in her kitchen with her arms crossed, looking around her apartment, her very empty apartment, with conflicting emotions. Enlisting the aid of Boyd and his minions, most of her belongings had been packed and stuffed into storage, courtesy of Uncle Sam and the American taxpayers. Only a few things remained, those being that which she needed to sustain herself for what might be her last days on Earth as well as the items she and Buffy were packing into the containers assigned to them.

No unnecessary items, pack what you need and don't bring too many personal belongings, they'd been told. Faith laughed at the memory of Buffy's outraged expression when she'd been told that any more than three pairs of shoes were considered excessive unless they served a specific purpose. Fashion, Buffy had discovered, was not one such purpose.

However the blonde had been _somewhat _mollified when Faith pointed out that Illyria didn't actually need to bring anything seeing as how she could change her form and all. The extra space had been claimed by Buffy with a swiftness that was either laughable or terrifying.

The single object Illyria _did_ bring was a small pot of soil that contained several small stalks of bamboo. Carter had suggested that bringing a plant native to Earth might have unintended consequences in a non-terrestrial environment, like introducing an invasive species, however Illyria had countered in her usual cool, measured, disdainful voice. "I hear the song of the Green, and it hears me. They will obey my will."

Yeah, that _hadn't_ been the reassurance Carter had sought.

Faith sighed quietly. Her life that she'd made for herself was mostly packed away now and that knowledge filled her heart with...well a lot of things. Loss, obviously. Pride that she'd had anything worth feeling loss over in the first place, and a whole mess of other fleeting sentiments.

Buffy was currently away, picking up a package that the Scoobies had sent them as a final goodbye. Faith had admitted to herself that she wouldn't mind a little magical support and hoped the Red Witch had packed some goodies of her own. Willow had become scary powerful and now that she was less inhibited, less afraid of turning to the Dark Side, she had been proving herself capable of some truly amazing feats of magic. She wouldn't mind bringing one such feat with her, not at all.

Bringing weapons had become something of a cloudy issue as well to the Slayers, not because of privacy concerns or their desire to remain unnoticed for what they were, but more as a matter of practicality. While Buffy had given the Scythe, and with it the position of Head Slayer, to Kennedy, that hadn't stopped either Buffy or Faith from wanting to bring the rest of their arsenals with them. It had been Faith who observed that a P90 was just as capable of putting holes in things as the twelve daggers, dirks, stilettos, and kukris they'd collectively owned. There had even been a bone kris stylized with inlaid silver of unknown supernatural origins that Faith had picked up from Lorne as a going away present. The Host of Caritas had patted her cheek and told her that it would give her luck, so Buffy and she had compromised so that both the kris and one of the more impressive daggers belonging to Buffy were packed away.

Then the arguments about the swords, crossbows, and whatever mystical literature she possessed had started. Faith didn't think Buffy really understood how much her life was about to fundamentally change. The blonde might have learned a few words in foreign or alien languages, and she might have learned how to tolerate and use various types of firearms. She had even said goodbye to her nearest and dearest, but Faith still believed Buffy had been trapped by the mantle of the Slayer for so long that she couldn't really process the reality they were soon to face.

It wasn't denial, Faith knew, and whatever had happened on Thor's ship _had_ made a huge difference in this internal struggle of Buffy's, it was that Buffy was a Slayer and she'd been so deeply immersed in it that every problem looked like a vampire to be slayed. The idea of letting someone else be in 'command' over her or of fighting in ways that didn't bring you face to face with genuine Evil was almost foreign.

From what she'd heard of SG-1 and SG-10's various missions, that very thing had happened more than a few times. Her hope was such a scenario didn't occur. Hopefully there wouldn't be _any_ fighting. Or if there was, it would be against monsters that they could easily label as evil or at least truly bad. But she really didn't want Buffy to be placed into a situation where she had to hurt or kill a human because their interests, which may be understandable or even agreeable, created a conflict with the expedition's.

_Please don't let Buffy regret this_, she prayed.

Faith noticed Illyria staring at her, looking unusually contemplative. "What?" she asked.

Illyria cocked her head slightly.

It was still unnerving how...alien she could be sometimes, even more so when she donned Fred's appearance as she'd been doing more and more lately. Her reasoning when asked was that if she was forced to "crawl with the muck" than she would have to learn to "crawl more effectively" to avoid having the two Slayers ostracized and thereby limiting her own actions because of carelessness.

Angel had told her how Illyria had been able to impersonate Fred well enough to fool the physicist's own parents when they'd met and was able to emulate the girl just as well since then. But there were the moments where the disconcerting _otherness _of Illyria always crashed that illusion.

Faith decided to take a different track. "What do you think will happen when we get to Atlantis?" Then a sudden thought occurred to her. "Wait, have you ever used a Stargate?"

Illyria curled her lip. "I had no such need for the primitive methods of the Alterans in order to travel, however I did use the Astria Porta on one occasion, though it required shifting my form in order to do so."

"And?" Faith asked, curiosity piqued.

Illyria's eyes, even if they were Fred's, looked so ancient at that moment, ancient and filled with longing. "When the Alterans returned to Earth after Vrill's plague had driven them away, they did so without Atlantis. However the Alterans had built many such vessels, some of which were used to bring them back to this world. My kind never bothered to learn or understand their Gate system and that ignorance was noted and used by the Alterans.

"I found it interesting that beings of so little power were able to accomplish such things using only their knowledge of their physical world. And so I endeavored to discover more about the Astria Porta and its inner workings. Pain can be a great motivator when seeking such information and while they were considerably more advanced than the muck are now, pain was still felt keenly by them. Their desire for a quick and relatively painless death was often all the incentive needed for them to tell me what I wished to know. The Alterans believed us ignorant or incapable of using their Gate system, but they were not so foolish as to leave it entirely unprotected. I learned that the primary defense of the Astria Porta was the energy shields the Alterans favored so much."

Illyria smiled then, a cold smile, "the Alterans had made the manipulation of energy and matter into a science. But to my kind, Slayer, the manipulation of energy, magic, and matter were the immutable facts of our existence. Power was something we lived and breathed, something that was art when compared to the Alterans' crude application of their science.

"I stepped through an Astria Porta that had been gifted to me as spoils of war on another world, I altered the flow of time even as I felt myself collide with their shield and begin to disintegrate. But I am no mere half-breed, Slayer, I am an Old One and so I shattered their energy shield and forced the Astria Porta to remain open while my legions poured forth to set upon the city-ship of Lyonesse. It was glorious, the slaughter that followed, true beauty."

Faith looked at her with wide eyes. "Huh," she said neutrally, not knowing what else to say. "Um, do you think you being there might trigger something? You know, being an Old One setting foot in their city potentially seeking to do glorious slaughter and all?"

Illyria pursed her lips. "It is impossible to say. We may know the location, but we do not yet know if Atlantis is accessible." Illyria paused and added, "or if it is inhabited by those who might still fear my name."

"Atlantis was left behind in Pegasus when they came back, right? Means they wouldn't have quite as much experience with the Old Ones, probably wouldn't have any...traps?"

"Unlikely, but for all that they were muck, Alterans _could_ be exceedingly clever," Illyria admitted. "I remember such a trap when one of my kind, and not one counted among the weak, was caught in the path of an activating Astria Porta. The ensuing vortex caught him unprepared and resulted in him dying a true death."

"Well," Faith said, "let's hope the Ancients on Atlantis weren't the exceedingly clever type."

"Hope," Illyria repeated, sounding utterly contemptuous at the notion.

Any further words of disgust, scorn, and condescension Illyria had been about to say were halted by the sound of a car door slamming and the footfalls on the stairs. The knocking on the door that followed had Faith opening the door allowing Buffy entrance into the apartment.

She was smiling and holding a medium sized, well sealed box. "Presents!" the blonde Slayer crowed.

* * *

A knock on the door prompted Dr. Elizabeth Weir to look up from the stack of request forms of varying nature she'd been looking over. A large number of those forms had originated from one Rodney McKay, making General O'Neill's previous offer of taking the man out behind the proverbial shed increasingly attractive. _And speak of the Devil..._

"General O'Neill, I apologize for the state my people are leaving your base in," she said with a smile.

The older man waved her comment off. "Truth be told, I've always been a bit of a slob. Way I see it, your people are making this place downright homey."

Weir gave the man a skeptical look. "How can I help you, General?"

The salt and pepper haired man in the green uniform gave her a dazzling smile. "I can't just be here to say hello? Can't be here just to catch up?"

Weir crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine," the general huffed, conceding defeat. "I wanted to talk about a few members of your expedition. First off," he raised a hand to forestall any impending words, "first off, Daniel will _not_ be joining you. You can't have him. He's mine."

Elizabeth's lips quirked. "Very well, General, I understand that he's...yours."

"Oh har har," O'Neill snarked. "Second, Sheppard is going?" O'Neill asked, the question sounding more like a statement.

"Yes," the diplomat stated firmly. "He has the highest aptitude for the chair test than anyone else, even more than the two mystery girls coming with Miss Burkle."

The older man nodded, rubbing a hand along his jaw in thought. "He's a good man, good soldier, but not always the greatest follower."

"We've already discussed this," Weir reminded him, "in Antarctica?"

"Right, the point I was trying to make, Dr. Weir, is that even if _you're _okay with it, Sheppard will be catching a lot of flak from Sumner. And so will those two girls you mentioned. It's something to keep an eye on to make sure things run smoothly."

Weir narrowed her eyes. "You seem to have taken a very personal interest in those two girls. Why is it that you're putting so much effort into making sure they make it through that Stargate in two days' time?"

The general frowned and opened his mouth before closing it. To Weir's eye, the man seemed frustrated, obviously struggling about how to answer her question until he finally let out a long breath.

"Look Dr. Weir, _nobody_ else knows everything about them, not even Colonel Sumner, which is _not_ something I'm particularly happy about either. But these girls' secrets are theirs to share if they want and I'm not willing to break that trust. Dr. Weir, these girls would be incredibly helpful if you just gave them a chance."

"General O'Neill, I'll have you know that I've already taken the opportunity to speak with them and I have granted authorization for all three," Weir said before she leaned forward and spoke in a softer but firm tone. "I know you were keeping your cards close to your chest General O'Neill, but admitting that several of my expedition members will be embarking to Atlantis already keeping secrets that even a United States Air Force General is unwilling to divulge is...discomforting." Weir gazed at the man for another moment, weighing her words. "General, whatever it is that they are hiding, could it put my people in danger? I asked them this question and their response, like yours, was that they could help. I don't need a nonanswer, General, I need to know what I need to do to keep my people and the mission safe."

"Give them a chance, Dr. Weir. If you want your people safe, if you want to make sure their secrets won't threaten you, then give them a chance," Jack said earnestly. "Besides, if you let them help, you'll probably figure it all out anyways. They do subtle like McKay does suave."

Weir winced but couldn't help smiling at the dig. She tapped her fingers on the desk for a moment as she considered his words. She finally broke the silence when she asked another question. "And you include _Winifred Burkle_ as part of their group?" Elizabeth scoffed.

"Especially Miss Burkle, Dr. Weir, _especially _her." Jack stayed silent for a moment before a sudden grin lit his face. "Tell me, Dr. Weir, what do you know about Faith Lehane's introduction to Stargate Command?"

"Nothing," Weir said, clearly unhappy about the fact, "and believe me I tried to find out how a young woman, practically a _girl_, not to mention a convicted murderer turned fugitive who was then pardoned for unknown reasons was allowed access to this program."

Even in the face of her disgruntlement, the general kept smiling, though it had slipped momentarily at the mention of Faith Lehane's criminal record. "Do you know what the first thing Faith did when she and I first met?" he asked with a wistful tone.

Weir looked at him suspiciously. "No, General, why don't you tell me."

General O'Neill grinned. "Well, her first words were 'what the fuck?' and her first reaction had been to break my nose and knock me on my ass. Tell you something, Dr. Weir, if Thor hadn't been there after beaming her down, there would have been bodies on the floor, and none of them her's."

Weir's eyes flicked to his recently broken nose.

"No, this was the other one. To be fair, Miss Summers thought I was pulling a gun on her."

Weir's eyes narrowed. After a moment, she finally hissed, "what?" Though even she wasn't sure which story she was actually questioning.

"The only reason Faith was introduced to us was because Thor beamed her right into the SGC briefing room. She had no idea who we were, what a Stargate was, what Thor was, any of it. But Thor knew about her."

"Ho—" Weir stopped her question and took in the general's expression through narrowed eyes. "That's all you'll tell me then?"

O'Neill nodded.

"So Thor knows her? Knows her and brought her to the SGC?" Weir asked rhetorically, shaking her head in disbelief. "I don't understand this, General, and I'm not usually one to question one of Earth's strongest and closest allies, not when you're behind them as well. But I sure hope you know what you're doing."

When he left, Elizabeth slumped slightly. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, trying to recover her mindset and get back to work.

"He's not wrong, you know."

Weir visibly jerked and her eyes went round at the sound of the voice. She quickly glanced around the room before catching sight of the man, or being, who called himself Whistler. He wore the same clothes as before, the same brown fedora, the same thoughtful expression. Though surprised, she didn't panic this time, something her dignity thanked her for. "Who are you?"

"I told you, call me Whistler," he said with a smile.

"Yes, you told me what to call you, but what is your _name?_"

"You couldn't pronounce it, pretty hard for anyone to pronounce unless they're a dolphin."

"You're not human," Weir stated, the slightest edge of accusation lacing her tone.

"Gee lady, what gave you that idea? Was it the unpronounceable name? No, it must have been the disappearing act," the man said sarcastically and without the slightest bit of hesitation.

Elizabeth sighed. "Then how about _what_ are you?"

"If you were hoping for an easy question, that ain't it. Depends on who you ask. To most, I'm a messenger. To others, I'm an abomination or even just a pain in the ass, but I could be described best as an agent of balance, if you will."

"Abomination sounds...harsh," she observed somewhat inanely.

"Yeah, well, them's the breaks," the man said with a shrug. "I help, I put things right, I make things stay...balanced."

"Wouldn't that imply you don't always help_?_ That sometimes the things you do we'd consider _bad_ in order to keep 'the balance'?" Weir suggested.

"Lady, you really think people need _help_ being bad? Those things I talked about when we first met, Elizabeth, those are the kinds of things I help balance out."

Elizabeth shook her head, trying to forget the images of monsters that the man had inspired. "Then why are you _here_ talking to _me_? If you know so much, then you must know I'm leaving with those girls, so why are you here? Why is everyone so interested in them?"

Whistler smiled suddenly, a smile that was there and gone like summer lightning. "Atlantis. Gotta say, no one quite expected you people to make it there this early, but the timing is rather auspicious for my superiors. Lots of things have been changin' here, kid, things people don't see, won't notice, but it's been huge. That balance, lady, is looking pretty good for the good guys right now.

"But now we got ourselves a little complication. And you, Dr. Weir, will have your own problems to deal with when you reach Atlantis. The way my superiors think...let's make our problem your solution, and your people might help our problem...change. They're very big on that sort of thing, my bosses. You know, fate, redemption, choice, all the good stuff."

"And just who are these superiors of yours?" Weir asked, still struggling to comprehend what he was saying but unwilling to let the chance slip to get more information.

Whistler shrugged, "depends on who—"

"—you ask," Weir finished sourly. "So you're here just to make sure we take your problem off your hands?"

"You think it's that simple? But you're getting there."

Weir rubbed her now throbbing temples. "O'Neill seemed to think Winifred Burkle might be the most dangerous of the three."

"I told you that he's not wrong," Whistler winked.

"How? How could _Winifred Burkle _of all people, not a murderer or former asylum inmate be the most dangerous of the three? She's a physicist, for Christ's sake, what does she or any of them have to do with you?" Weir demanded.

"Told you it wasn't that simple, didn't I?" Whistler asked softly with a raised eyebrow. "Besides, Winifred Burkle died some time ago. Damn shame, too. The other two, they're the ones who are gonna help balance her out. Besides, Faith and Buffy, they might be going to a new galaxy, but I can pretty much guarantee you it'll feel just like home to them pretty soon. I told you Jack-o wasn't wrong, Elizabeth. Let them work for you, let them fight for you. It's who they are, _what_ they are."

Weir just looked at him before she pleaded, "I don't understand."

Whistler sighed as he stood up from the seat he'd taken. "Remember what I told you the last time we met? Right before I left?"

"Just accept it," Weir murmured.

"That's the ticket, lady. Sometimes learning to accept is even harder than learning how to fight. Just ask the blonde one about that, it's practically her life story." Whistler lifted his bare wrist as if to check the time before announcing, "well, Dr. Weir, I think this is goodbye. I have other errands to run and I think I've said all I can."

The man turned as if to make for the door but he paused. "One last thing, Dr. Weir. My bosses, they have a peculiar sense of humor, you know? They wanted me to inform you that, should any of your members be hijacked or kidnapped or whatever, you should make sure it's Fred Burkle. Even _they_ think it'd be hilarious."

Elizabeth opened her mouth to reply when there was a knock at the door. The door opened without her having a chance to respond, revealing a bickering Rodney McKay and Carson Beckett. When her eyes flicked to the spot Whistler had stood, she was more bemused than surprised to discover the spot was now empty.

Focusing on the arguing doctors, she tried not to think about a comment Whistler had made which had just registered. If Winifred Burkle had died, then what or who had she been speaking to?

Weir sighed as the argument about whether some of the medical equipment could be left behind in order to fit in more of the scientific equipment McKay stated were absolutely necessary. Weir rubbed her temples again and really wished she'd taken General O'Neill up on his offer about putting McKay down.

* * *

"General O'Neill?"

Jack looked up to see Colonel Sumner standing at attention, salute and all. _Ugh_. Jack answered the Colonel's salute with his own. "At ease. Shut up. Sit down."

Marshall Sumner was a marine to the bone; he shut up and he sat down as ordered.

"What can I do for you, Colonel?" O'Neill asked as he moved his hand in slow elliptical circles halfway hidden behind the desk.

"General, I wanted to...I...General, may I ask what you're doing?" Colonel Sumner asked, confused at Jack's hand motions.

"I can't do this goddamn thing," Jack groused, jerking his hand up to reveal a yo-yo. "I used to be able to yo-yo, but now I can't. I am _not_ getting old!"

"No sir," Sumner agreed obediently.

Jack's lips twitched. "You could be more enthusiastic about it."

Sumner raised an eyebrow and spoke louder, but just as blandly, "truly sir, you are the very picture of youth and vitality."

"And don't forget it!" Jack smiled. "Now what can I help you with?"

Sumner's own smile faded as he returned to the business at hand. He frowned. "I was told that as leader of the military contingent of the expedition, I would have leeway in assembling my own force. For the most part, that has been the case."

"For the most part," Jack echoed.

"Yes sir. General, you know why I'm here. One week ago you dumped three dossiers on my desk and told me that they were coming and to read up. Well, I put it off while I worked on all the other countless things that needed working on. See, I thought you _telling_ me they were coming implied, at the very least, they they were qualified individuals. I finished these dossiers, General, and with all due respect, what are you trying to pull?

"Take Major Sheppard for example. He might be a child genius when it comes to the CIA test and the Ancient's technology, but I cannot rely on a man who is willing to disobey a direct order. Then we have the blonde college dropout with exactly nothing but your recent physical and firearms tests and the presence of the ATA gene to recommend her. Miss Lehane...I don't know if she's better for having spent two years working up to this, or worse because she's a convicted murderer. Please, help me out on this, General," Sumner finished, visibly annoyed and confused.

Jack felt for the man, he really did. If it had been him on the other side of the desk, he knew he'd be raising one hell of a fuss about it, too. "Colonel, I'm tell you to take them because I sincerely believe they can help you. Major Sheppard is your average 'what you see is what you got' sort of a man. He's a good man, a good fighter, and Weir really wants him."

Sumner nodded, looking unhappy but at least mollified. "I grant you that everything on his record recommends him except for the incident in Afghanistan which landed him at McMurdo to begin with. But the girls?"

Jack sighed and leaned forward, speaking quietly. "Back in '99, there was a rogue NID unit. Hell, it was a rogue unit _of_ a rogue unit and it was based out of Sunnydale, California." Jack nodded when the man recognized the name of the city that became a sinkhole. "Buffy was 18 at the time and had attracted their attention. The unit decided they wanted to test her out for possible recruitment."

Sumner, to his credit, looked queasy at the prospect. "How did the NID...test her?"

"Not as bad as what you're thinking, probably. Buffy was told to evade an assigned Army SRT for as long as possible and to defend herself as best she could," Jack explained and added, "that SRT wasn't your ordinary Special Reaction Team either, they were reported to be as capable as any Special Operations force." Jack waited for the man to take that in and continued. "It took that team 42 minutes to _find _her and it took her 28 seconds for her to neutralize _them_. She was 18, Colonel, and both she and Faith are capable of that performance."

Colonel Sumner tapped his fingers against the desk in thought. "What happened to the NID unit?"

"I can't tell you the specifics, but I can tell you that it backfired and that there was a 40% casualty rate."

"40%?" Sumner asked incredulously.

"The survivors reported that it would have been 100% if not for the intervention of one Buffy Summers."

Sumner considered his words, obviously trying to connect the new information with what he'd read in their records. "Are they disciplined?"

Jack laughed.

Sumner glared at him.

"You know Staff Sergeant Richards at the Academy?"

Sumner shrugged, "by reputation only."

"Ask him about his last paintball game with Faith, SG-10, and his cadets," Jack said, laughing.

"You're not exactly inspiring me with confidence, sir," the Colonel growled.

"These girls aren't disciplined, not in the way you mean it. But they are fighters, through and through, and they'll be the best you got if you let them," Jack insisted.

Sumner struggled to accept that claim for a moment before nodding, coming to some internal decision. "General O'Neill, I can't stop you from sending them with the expedition, neither Sheppard nor the two girls. But if—once we set foot in Atlantis, it's my call. Now I'll give Sheppard a shot, but..." the marine trailed off.

"You're right, Colonel, I can't order you to do something that you feel might endanger your men, but Colonel, consider it a request that you remember them, that you give them some chance to impress you."

"I'll think about it," Colonel Sumner said with a sigh, then he raised a finger, "but if they screw up and get one of my people hurt or injured, I'll have them babysitting the civilians for the duration of the expedition."

Jack nodded. "Fair enough. Thank you, Colonel. Is there anything else?"

Sumner stood from the chair and straightened himself. "No sir, thank you for your time."

Jack smiled. "You're about to travel to another world, to another galaxy, to _Atlantis_. Time is the least I can offer to help. Oh, one more thing."

"Sir?" Sumner asked.

"Something you said, about babysitting the civvies. Both Miss Lehane and Miss Summers are currently living with Winifred Burkle, one of the scientists accompanying the expedition. She has a particular report with Miss Lehane, from what I've heard."

"Well, I suppose lumping those two together with the understanding that Lehane is watching out for Burkle _might_ help cut down on any detractors," Sumner murmured then continued in a louder voice, "like I said, Sheppard is understandable, but my people will question my decision on the girls, quietly of course, but they will."

"They won't for long," Jack promised. "Good talking to you, Colonel."

Jack sighed as the man left, hoping for the millionth time that he wasn't about to get a lot of people hurt. He glanced at the clock on the desk and perked up. Only a couple more hours till his date, the thought of which made him smile and forget some of his troubles for a little while. _Got a date with a hot blonde; _definitely_ not old yet_, he thought smugly.

* * *

**December 12th, 2005  
**_(One day before Atlantis dialing attempt)_**  
**

"So, as her guide you..." Jack indicated for Faith to answer with his hand making an obnoxious '_well?'_ gesture.

In unison, the members of SG-1, Buffy, and Faith looked out the back window of Jack's living room, where Illyria was visible in the backyard staring at a large pine tree.

"Ugh," Faith replied eloquently.

Buffy elbowed her. Faith punched Buffy's thigh in response. They glared at each other.

"Please," Jack said, "keep your scary, violent foreplay down to a minimum in my presence."

Faith grinned while Buffy blushed.

"Well, Faith?" Sam prompted.

"I don't really know," Faith admitted, "all I know is that Wesley agreed to be her guide in return for her not to kill. Well, kill indiscriminately, I guess."

"Ah," Jack replied, sounding not at all satisfied with the answer.

"Illyria wants a guide to...understand maybe. How humanity arose to its place in this world, or how she can fit in among us, maybe. I don't really know the specifics," Faith added.

"That's rather fascinating," Daniel said, looking almost excited.

"It's fascinating that an agreement had to be made in order to avoid wholesale slaughter?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It is, though," Daniel pressed on. "Can you imagine a System Lord doing as much? A being of such great power willing to make an agreement to curtail their activity in order to learn, to understand an unfamiliar world? It shows a remarkable display of adaptability for a being who was once akin to a god."

Sam grudgingly agreed. "I suppose so, Ba'al or Anubis in a similar situation would be...yeah, I see your point."

"She is a being of great arrogance," Teal'c said, "one whose estimation of herself accompanied by her disregard for others that is not dissimilar to the Goa'uld. Nevertheless, I agree that there is a difference, subtle, but marked."

"Well, I've never met the Gouda—"

"Goa'uld," Faith, Sam, and Daniel automatically corrected.

"—but I've met a lot of bad guys, even a Hell Goddess, heck, even the First Evil," Buffy said, trailing off before speaking in a softer voice, "they were all bad, evil, but Illyria...she's more alien than the aliens."

"That's not a bad way of putting it," Daniel agreed.

Faith shook her head. "Fuck, Angel said that Blue had claimed to have lived in multiple dimensions at the same time. Guess that'd give you a bit of a weird mindset."

"Can we stop talking about uber-smurf, please?" Jack asked. "I'm still annoyed that neither Weir nor Sumner are getting much, or any, preparation for you three hellraisers. I can only say you're 'special' or 'unique' so many times."

Faith winced. "Our 'secret identities'," Faith said, using her fingers to indicate the quotation marks, "aren't likely to last forever. Eventually there will be questions, or gunfire in Illyria's case. Do you really want to try explaining all three of us plus the whole mystical world to Weir or Colonel Sumner? Two days before we leave?"

Jack muttered something foul under his breath.

Teal'c nodded gravely.

Buffy clapped her hands together. "So! Atlantis!"

"Your inner cheerleader is showing, B," Faith observed dryly.

"Buffy Summers is wise, Faith Lehane. You may face danger and great trials, but tomorrow is something to celebrate," Teal'c nodded to Buffy with a solemn look of respect.

"I'm wise?" Buffy blinked.

Faith snorted. "What was the total shoe count that you packed?"

The blonde kicked Faith in the shin.

"You do realize that the two of you are going to be...fascinating to the men on the base, right? And even if you're on another world, you probably don't want to make it so obvious that Sumner _has_ to ask. I don't know his feelings about it, but..." Jack shrugged.

The girls looked at him blankly.

"You know...President Clinton? 1993? 'Don't ask' ringing a bell?"

"Ask what?" Buffy asked, perplexed.

"1993? Dude, I was still in Southie, what are you talking about?" Faith said, just as confused.

"What Jack is trying and failing to say is that it is the United States' military policy to adhere to the 1993 "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" act in relation to gays, lesbians, and bisexuals from serving in the armed forces," Daniel explained. "They don't ask, and as long as you don't tell, then they won't kick you out."

Before the Slayers count interject, Sam added, "as civilians, it wouldn't be worth mentioning, but as civilians _attached_ to a military unit, you could place Sumner in an awkward position if any of his men are prejudiced."

"Huh," Faith said. Then a wicked grin appeared on her face as she gave Buffy a leering look. "So no exhibitionism, pity."

Daniel blushed at Faith's words, but Jack noticed that both Sam and Buffy were equally red in the face. He made a mental note to ask Sam about that later.

Jack's eyes narrowed as he returned to the conversation. "Yes, that's exactly the sort of thing you shouldn't do."

Faith sighed, sounding aggrieved. "Taking all the fun out of things Jack."

"If you keep this up," Buffy said primly, "you'd better hope that the floor is comfortable in Atlantis."

There was a moment of pleasant silence while they enjoyed each other's presence, or in Illyria's case, the tree. Buffy didn't know these people, not well at least, but she and Jack had hit it off well, despite the nose incident. If for some reason Buffy backed out at this point, it was consolation knowing that Buffy would probably be better as a result of her experience here. Hard to argue about it being worthwhile when they were the first Slayers to make it into space. But Faith felt like they were past that point now; Buffy's relatively smooth transition into her new environment had given Faith a little, well, faith.

"I'm gonna miss you guys," Faith said suddenly.

"And we, you," Jack said gently.

"It's been...wicked," Daniel added with a smirk.

"Indeed," from the dark skinned Jaffa.

Sam nodded, "thank you, Faith, for everything."

"Hey, didn't you say Willow brought you presents?" Daniel asked.

"Yep," Buffy said, popping the 'p'.

"Well, we aren't entirely certain how magic will translate through a Stargate, but Willow thinks that because the Stargate functions through wormholes or 'mundane physics' there shouldn't be any issue. To be safe, we weren't given any of the _really_ good stuff," Faith said.

"Willow made several...thingies with our blood that are in Scotland. They _should _be able to tell the others that we're still alive, which would probably be good," Buffy said.

"That could have been handy in the past," Jack agreed. "Think we could...?"

"Sam has her number," Faith answered. "Got a couple other neat things, but mostly helpful crap as opposed to the Destroyer of All Things Bad Dagger or a stick that shoots napalm."

"Mostly?" Daniel asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I have the kris that Lorne gave me, but I still don't know anything about it except that it's way old," Faith said.

"Plus it looks cool," Buffy interjected.

"Plus it looks really fuckin' cool," Faith agreed with a smile. "We got some other neat things, cure-alls for mundane illnesses or poisons and the two items that are the exception to the mostly."

"And?!" Jack asked insistently.

Buffy reached a hand down and retrieved a hammer from a belt loop that had been obscured by her jacket. She flipped it into the air, making Jack cringe, but caught it. "I got my hammer."

Jack eyed her and the ordinary looking hammer. The blonde was disgustingly smug while Faith just smiled at him. "So...nice hammer?"

"Wanna see it?"

"Um...sure," Daniel said, taking the hammer from Buffy. Or at least, tried to take the hammer. The moment Buffy released the hammer, Daniel toppled from his chair at the sudden weight in his hand.

There was a moment of stunned silence on SG-1's side of Jack's living room.

"Your hammer," Jack observed blandly, "just dented my floor."

Buffy grimaced. "Sorry, forgot about that."

Jack muttered something unpleasant which was rewarded with a backhanded smack to the gut by Sam.

"So, uh," Daniel said breathlessly as he picked himself up, "I'm guessing more than just a hammer?"

"Oh yeah," both girls said simultaneously, all smiles.

Buffy stood up and picked up the hammer from the ground with ease and gave herself some space. "_Verimas_!"

The moment Buffy said the word, the common, unadorned hammer changed into a massive war hammer. It had a wooden handle and was maybe three to four feet in length with an almost absurdly large stone hammer attached to the head.

"Verimas is the Anc—Alteran word for truth, how...?" Daniel asked, trailing off.

"First off DJ, I cannot _believe_ that was your first question. Second, I _was_ paying attention to your lessons," Faith said smugly.

"So what kind of nails require a hammer like _that_?" Jack asked sardonically.

"The kind that resemble Hell Goddesses," Buffy answered flippantly. "This is the hammer that belonged to Olaf the Troll God. Now, it is _my_ Troll hammer. It contains the power of a god inside it," the blonde Slayer added with a satisfied tone.

"It left a dent in my floor," Jack pointed out again.

"Wait, so how were you able to change it? I didn't think magic was one of your talents," Sam asked.

"Willow coded the enchantment to us so that when either Faith or I say the words, the enchantment is triggered," Buffy replied. "_Lacun_!"

The others watched as the Troll hammer was restored to its mundane shape and size and subsequently placed back into Buffy's belt pocket.

"That's gotta be some belt," Jack observed.

"Willow," Buffy answered the unasked question.

"Ah, and how about you?" Jack asked, turning to Faith.

Faith shrugged. "Nothing that wicked. I have the kris to cover...well whatever it will cover, which now that I say it out loud, doesn't sound all the great of a plan."

Buffy grimaced. "Spike's medallion."

Faith wrinkled her nose. "I don't think Lorne's the type to want to see me burn alive, but yeah, not quite as happy now. Anyway, I went to Scotland and all they got me was this lousy thing."

Faith followed Buffy's example and stood to give herself room before she jerked her wrist in an odd motion.

"Whoa."

Jack, Sam, Teal'c, and Daniel watched as a length of metal shot out from under the sleeve of Faith's coat followed by another edged part flipping to extend the metal length even further, leaving Faith with sword that extended a little less than two feet from her hand.

"Indeed."

"Of course," Faith murmured nonchalantly, "it's been spelled by Red, no rust, never loses its edge, plus five dexterity, all the good stuff."

Jack turned to glare at his teammates as Faith's collapsible sword disassembled itself and disappeared under Faith's fleece jacket's cuff. Faith pulled her sleeve up to reveal an interesting getup. It looked delicate, almost like a bare bones vambrace, just a few leather straps and a large rectangular metal piece. "Why don't we have cool stuff like that? Where's our 'Q' to give us collapsible LAWs or inflatable staff weapons?" Jack huffed.

"This was Illyria's idea," Faith said. "Wesley had something like it, apparently worked well for him."

They all looked back outside at the mention of Illyria. Still standing. Still looking at the tree.

"I really hope she doesn't do that in Atlantis," Buffy moaned.

"She won't," Faith said dryly, "she understands that it's weird to us lowly pond scum."

"So...Atlantis," Daniel said.

"Yep, tomorrow," Faith agreed. "Meaning it's about time to hit the hay. Big day and all that." The brunette glanced at Buffy and said, "you should call Dawn."

Buffy winced but nodded. "See you all tomorrow?"

"Sam and Teal'c might be out taking care of Jaffa and Tok'ra stuff, but Daniel and I will be there," Jack said.

"Alrighty then," Faith said, taking Buffy's hand and standing to make their exit.

* * *

"Hello?"

Buffy closed her eyes as she heard the hiccups in Dawn's voice; they always happened when she cried. "Hey Dawnie, it's me."

"Buffy! Hi! Um," Dawn sniffed, "hey."

"So, you know I'm leaving tomorrow and...Dawnie there's so much I want to say and I don't know how. I know we already had our moment at Heathrow, but..."

"You don't have to leave," Dawn said in a small voice.

"I think I do, and it's a decision that I've already made. I just wanted to call you because I want you to know..." Buffy paused to sniff as her own sadness began to weigh on her. "I just wanted you to know how proud I am of you, of how much I love you."

Dawn made unhappy sounds and Buffy knew that Dawn, like herself, was crying.

"Remember when I told you years ago that you needed to be brave? That you needed to be strong? That you needed to live? Do you remember, Dawnie?"

A mumbled, "yes."

"Well, that still applies. Minus the klepto thing, because that was really weird. Be brave, be strong, and do it this time knowing that I am alive, Dawn. So alive. And I'll be brave and strong, just like you, because I'm going to miss you so much. This isn't like last time, Dawn, okay? I'm not jumping through a portal to my death."

Buffy paused. _Shit._

"How is it not like that, Buffy!"

"Okay, so maybe it's a little like that, but at least I'm not jumping from a tower!" Buffy defended herself.

Dawn growled.

"Don't take that tone with me, Dawnie!"

"Or what? You'll fly back to the Milky Way and spank me?" Dawn snarked back.

"I won't need to! Spike will be there, he'll do it for me!" Buffy said triumphantly, then paused again. "Ew."

"Ew," Dawn agreed.

"Doesn't sound all too bad to me, Niblet," an English voice echoed through the receiver.

"Spike!" the two Summers sisters shouted at him.

The vampire chuckled. "Hello luv. I just wanted to say goodbye, goodbye _for now_. Be safe and look after Faith, you know she needs you. Bird always has."

Buffy nodded before realizing Spike couldn't actually see her. "Yeah."

"What is it you said to Niblet? Live? Be strong? We'll do that, and you do that in Atlantis. Whatever nasties there are, make sure you give 'em a good kick in the bollocks for me, yeah?"

"You got it," Buffy smiled. "Spike?"

"Yeah luv?"

"Take care of her. Make her happy. Or I _will _fly back to the Milky Way and have my new friends beam you into the sun or something."

Spike chuckled. "You know I will, thanks for the vague disclaimer. Here's Dawn."

"Buffy?"

"Dawn, I love you. This is goodbye _for now_. I love you so much," Buffy said, smiling despite the heaviness in her heart.

When she finally hung up, she found herself encircled in Faith's arms.

"Everything good?"

Buffy considered Faith's question, trying to understand what exactly she was feeling. "Not yet," she answered, "but I will be."

"Good."

They were silent for a few minutes, enjoying each other's presence and the knowledge that tomorrow would likely change their lives.

"So...what was that Spike said about spanking?" Faith murmured in Buffy's ear as a hand trailed down the blonde Slayer's back to rest below the small of her back.

"Faith!"

* * *

**December 13th, 2005  
**_(T-minus three hours...)_

Buffy sidestepped, just barely avoiding the two Airmen carrying a heavy, rattling crate. A woman trailed in their wake, carrying a tablet and a small case of papers and books. There were groups engaged in loud conversations while others argued about things that had too many syllables to be interesting.

"Wow," Faith said, observing the mayhem.

"It's been like this ever since Weir got the green light," Jack said sourly..

"Are Boyd and SG-10 here?" Faith asked, peering around.

"No, unfortunately I had to send them offworld, but they told me to tell you to have fun and not to tweak Sumner's nose too hard or too frequently. Something I'm firmly in agreement of as well," Jack said gravely, but there was a glint in his eye that spoke of mischief.

"So are you all ready? Packed your bags? Ready to go where no Slayer has gone before?" Daniel asked.

"Locked and loaded," Faith said, tapping her wrist.

Buffy took out the hammer and flipped it into the air, smirking at the collective flinch. "Just point me at 'em," she added.

"I need no tools to bathe in the blood of my enemies, no weapons to rip into my foes and force them to watch as I pull their entrails out. I will shatter bone and rend the flesh of those who would dare oppose me," 'Fred' said coldly.

Jack clapped his hands after an awkward silence. "Great, I'll take that as a yes."

"Illyria, you know that a disguise would include not doing...all of that, yes?" Daniel asked worriedly.

"I am enjoying the remaining time I have until I'm to fulfill my agreement and act as the muck do."

"Lovely," Jack said blandly.

Faith winced. "So, now that we're here, as amusing as this or people watching is, I'm kinda bored. Is there anything else we should be doing? Are Sam and Teal'c here?"

Jack shook his head. "No, as I mentioned yesterday it was a possibility that I'd have to send them out, and as things worked out..." Jack shrugged, "but they wish you the best and told me to tell you goodbye. As to the other question, as long as your gear is stowed away, all that you need to do now is see Dr. Beckett for your round of vaccinations."

Faith grimaced and then groaned when she glanced at Illyria. "Jack, her skin, you can't give her—"

"—already handled it," Jack assured her with a placating tone. "Just you two."

Both Slayers grumbled but followed Jack's orders to see the Scottish doctor.

"At least his accent is hot," Buffy muttered and took solace in Faith's agreeable nod.

#

"General O'Neill!"

The Old One watched as the one called 'General Jack O'Neill' moved off to respond to another human's questions. He did not look like a general in her eyes, this O'Neill, neither striking fear into others nor displaying any significant combat skill. And yet the Asgard, who were logical and rational to the point of tedium even in her time, had named him a hero. It seemed absurd, but then so did many things that had been touched by the spread of humanity.

"What do you see when you look at us?" the former Ascended being at her side asked quietly. "I've seen eyes that showed contempt, hatred, and disgust, but I see none of those things in your gaze right now."

Illyria was silent for a moment. "I see reminders of what I lost, of what could have been. I see a contradiction, a weak species on the cusp of becoming something more. Your species, your morals, your beliefs, your laws, all of them built on foundations of contradictions, hypocrisy, and falsehoods. And yet you prepare to reclaim Atlantis even as we speak, to step further into the mantle the Alterans left you."

Illyria felt the eyes of Daniel Jackson upon her, but she maintained her study on the humans scurrying about her like insects.

"You're not entirely what I expected from someone whose last name is 'the Merciless'," Daniel said softly.

The Old One finally gave Daniel her full regard at the comment. "It is not what I expected either."

"Will you watch over them?" the man asked, nodding towards Buffy and Faith, both of whom appeared to be teasing Dr. Beckett ruthlessly.

"They are warriors, Daniel Jackson, they have no need for my protection. But I will fight at their side when I must. I understand that if I am not...discrete problems will likely arise."

Daniel nodded. "They, the leaders of the expedition, believe you'll be an asset for Winifred Burkle's intellect, her knowledge and understanding of physics. I've been told you contain Fred's memories, so that won't be a problem?"

"Now Daniel, surely you don't believe a girl like me could let her friends down, do you?"

#

Daniel flinched inwardly at Fred's sweet Texan accent and watched as the ancient demon strolled towards the two Slayers, evidently finished with their conversation. "And don't call me Shirley," he muttered.

The archaeologist then barked out a laugh as Dr. Rodney McKay intercepted Illyria and began to chatter at her. Daniel wasn't quite tell if McKay was berating her about something or asking her on a date. He chuckled quietly as he left to go find Jack.

* * *

_(T-minus one hour...)_

"I can't believe they are making us wear this crap," Buffy muttered, picking at the Air Force BDUs that Jack had provided along with the tactical vest. "Camo doesn't go well with my complexion and the uber sweater vest is really pressing down on my chest."

"Don't worry B, you still look good enough to eat," Faith said straight-faced as they passed a group of civilians in one of the many slim corridors of Stargate Command.

Buffy's mouth dropped open. "Faith! That is _not_ discrete!"

Faith smiled at her.

"I hate you," Buffy pouted.

Faith was about to reply when an authoritative male voice called them by their last names. They turned to see the older uniformed man beckoning to them through the mob of people and equipment

"Guessing that's head honcho Sumner who probably hates us?" Buffy asked rhetorically.

"Safe bet."

When they finally managed to reach the man, he led them to a different corridor and eventually ushered them inside a small office before shutting the door.

"Wow, I didn't realize it was so loud out there until now," Buffy said in the sudden silence.

Colonel Sumner grimaced, but was halted from replying because the door opened to reveal a young looking man with short black hair in blue tactical pants, shirt, and vest that mirrored Buffy and Faith's gear.

"Sir, you wanted to see me?" the newcomer asked, giving the colonel a salute.

The colonel nodded and waved off the salute. "Major Sheppard, take a seat." When 'Major Sheppard' did as ordered, Sumner spoke again. "Major Sheppard, this is Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane. Ladies, this is Major John Sheppard. Now, you three are all here because you have something in common: I don't want you here. Whether you're here on this expedition or not is Dr. Weir's call, but taking part in field operations in a non-scientific capacity is something that is up to me."

He looked each one of them in the eye before he continued. "You three pose a danger. I don't know you, my people don't know you. I don't know if you'll follow an order even if you disagree with it."

Colonel Sumner had been looking directly at Sheppard at the last sentence but now switched his focus to Faith and Buffy. "I don't know if you can live up to your physical tests or firearms performances and I don't know if any lack of discipline on your parts will get my people killed."

The man sighed and continued with a slightly less harsh tone. "What I do know, Major Sheppard, ladies, is that General O'Neill wants you on Atlantis and in the field. You will have your chance, but your first screw-up that has me writing a death notice to someone's next of kin will leave you grounded permanently, at the very least. Do you understand me?"

Sheppard stiffened. "Yes sir."

Buffy and Faith both nodded.

"Get the rest of your gear and suit up. Sheppard, you're coming in with Security Team Two. Ladies, I haven't assigned either of you to a team yet, nor will I until I get a firsthand look at what you're capable of. You'll be at the head of the rest of expedition group when you're given the green light. We'll be dialing within the hour so hustle up."

The three saluted or nodded and left the room together. Outside, they paused and glanced at each other.

Sheppard scratched the back of his head looking confounded. "I don't know why, but something tells me he doesn't like us."

Faith nodded gravely.

"Well, now that we're without adult supervision..." The Major extended a hand. "John, John Sheppard."

Faith took the hand and gave it a firm shake. "I'm Faith."

"Buffy," the blonde said when it was her turn.

Sheppard winced. "Is it really?"

Buffy glared at him.

"Okay, fair enough," he said with a placating tone.

"Let's go get the fun shit," Faith said to interrupt Buffy's glare of doom.

Sheppard and Buffy followed Faith as the brunette Slayer made a beeline to the Ordinance Office. After fitting in her earpiece and receiving her service weapon, she began cooing and stroking her P90 as if it were a cat. Sheppard winced again. "Probably shouldn't be referring to that as the fun shit around Sumner either," he suggested.

Faith shrugged and waited for the Major and Buffy to get the rest of their gear from the Ordinance Officer and then led the two to the Gate room, where they stood in a milling crowd of marines, security personnel, and scientists.

"Well, hope nobody left their stoves on," Faith quipped, looking jittery.

Neither Buffy nor John looked any better.

"Shouldn't be much longer," Faith said to fill the silence, "there has got to be a big speech coming our way."

John nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I better go find the others on my team. See you in Atlantis," John said with a wave.

Buffy blew out a breath. "I'm wearing a terrible outfit, holding a gun, and getting ready to travel through a portal to Atlantis."

"Yep."

"And last night, along with many nights before, we slept together—"

"We slept? I don't remember that," Faith murmured.

"My life has changed...quite a bit," Buffy said contemplatively, ignoring Faith.

Faith's whimsical manner became more serious. "I know something about life changing decisions, B," the brunette said, "I think you'll come out of this one alright."

"We're all going to be seein' some changes, but I think this is gonna be one mighty fine shindig," Illyria said, coming to stand next to them at the back of the Gate room.

Faith didn't react to Fred's voice, just smiled and nodded in agreement.

#

They stood in silence, watching the frantic last minute preparations, the double and triple checks of people's various pockets, bags, or containers.

Faith heard Weir's voice loudly calling for everyone's attention and watched as the doctor strode to the ramp that led to the Stargate, giving her a vantage point over the others. The brunette leader of the Atlantis expedition stood behind the probe that was poised higher up the ramp. She wore the civilian uniform that had been given to the expedition members. A gray jacket with a patch of the United States flag that had a red swath over the chest accompanied by gray pants. The jacket was partially unzipped, revealing the red shirt underneath.

Like everyone else, she looked excited and nervous, but she spoke clearly and steadily. "We are about to try to make a connection. We have been unable to predict exactly how much power this is gonna take and we may only get the one chance at this. So if we are able to achieve a stable wormhole, we're not going to risk shutting the Gate down. We'll send in the MALP robot probe, check for viability, and go. Everything in one shot.

"Every one of you volunteered for this mission and you represent over a dozen countries. You are the world's best and brightest. And in light of the adventure we are about to embark on, you're also the bravest.

"I hope we all return one day having discovered a whole new realm for humanity to explore, but as all of you know, we may never be able to return home. I'd like to offer you all one last chance to withdraw your participation."

When no one moved to take Weir up on her offer, she continued.

"Begin the dialing sequence."

Buffy nearly jumped when the klaxons began sounding then settled down and watched the Stargate begin its dialing sequence. Faith smiled as the blonde's head was moving in circles as she tried to follow the progress of the ring. When the final chevron was locked, she blinked as the portal manifested. A vortex of spinning...stuff that shot out of the Stargate in their direction before being sucked back into the Gate, which now contained something resembling a puddle of water instead of empty air.

There was a round of applause as the Atlantis address was successfully dialed.

The MALP probe began its trek up the ramp and through the Stargate and they waited to hear whether or not they'd be following it to Atlantis.

When Colonel Sumner, Dr. Weir, and a group of marines began marching up the ramp, Faith tapped Buffy and indicated that they needed to head to the front per Sumner's instructions, while Illyria remained behind with the other scientists.

"Expedition team, move out," General O'Neill's voice called out.

Faith heard Jack's command and stood near the base of the ramp. She watched as Major Sheppard and a dark skinned marine went through the Stargate, the latter with a shouted "woo-hoo."

Faith walked side by side up the ramp and turned to give Jack and Daniel a thumbs up, receiving one in return. She gave a slight nod to Illyria who stood with the rest of the excited scientists. P90 still held at the ready, she took a deep breath, exchanged an excited look with Buffy, and walked the last few steps to the Stargate. When she reached what Sam had called the event horizon, she was surprised at her sudden lack of fear, an utter sense of serenity the likes of which she'd never felt before.

Smiling, Faith stepped forward into the Stargate.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Quick note, when Illyria was talking about traveling through the Stargate and changing her own form, I was referring to her ability to change her form, an ability she possessed before and after her power was sucked away by Wesley (though it was never seen except for changing between Fred and Smurf-Fred). This would also apply to her ability to "change outfits."

Lyonesse is another "lost city" like Atlantis. This one comes from an Arthurian legend and the city was said to have sunk beneath my ways. I thought the shared fate of both Lyonesse and Atlantis was a nice tie-in, plus Lyonesse is yet another little Arthurian tidbit thrown into the mix. (Remember how many of the characters from the tales of King Arthur were actually Ancients? Merlin? Morgan Le Fay? Camelot the _planet?_)

The Alteran words used by Buffy for the Troll Hammer:  
_Verimas:_ Truth (I thought of it as: revealing the truth of the item)  
_Lacun: _Hidden (I'm pretty sure you can guess why this one was used)

Point of discussion: I'm not 100% sure if this was explained in the story/chapter but I wanted to address the question of why Weir/Sumner weren't told by Jack or the others about the Slayers/Illyria. From a technical standpoint, one could argue that it was a matter of clearance levels, the other main reason is that I really want a big reveal scene for the Slayers and _especially_ Illyria. The first part of this story kind of took that away from Faith in my mind, and the third part provides a really grand stage for that scenario. Whistler's purpose in this part was to provide a foundation for Weir to accept the nature of the others in the third part of the story when all is revealed.

Part III will be coming shortly! There could be a slight delay while I try to get all my facts, timelines, and canon right, but it won't be long. I'm not planning on Buffy/Faith/Illyria to be part of the main team, so it's a bit of a challenge trying to figure out how to work them into the story without them trampling over the Sheppard, Ford, Teyla, McKay team. I loved that team's dynamic so I didn't want to overwrite it. We'll just have to see what I'm able to come up with.


End file.
